Return To Forks
by Thunder's Blade
Summary: After seventy-some years, the Cullens finally return to Forks for another four years of high school. What they didn't expect, however, was that another coven was living there, too. NOW BELONGS TO AliceOfTwilight71! yes, i quit...shame on me.
1. Vision

Vision

_BPOV_

"Bella," my angel whispered in my ear as the landscape became more and more familiar. "Are you _sure_ about this? We don't ever have to return to high school if you don't want to, remember that."

I pulled myself closer to him. "I'm sure," I assured him. "Besides, our courses are different now…you've never taken A.P. Russian…have you?"

His soft, musical laugh sounded in my ear. "I've taken an advanced Russian course before…but not as highly advanced as A.P., no."

"See," I whispered. "There's always_ something_ new."

"Mmm…."

He leaned in to press his lips softly against mine, and we kissed until Emmett made a gagging noise beside us.

Edward sighed and tore his lips from mine, annoyed.

"Grow up, Emmett," he muttered. "It's not as if you haven't done this before."

Rosalie was paying no attention whatsoever to our conversation, and didn't notice when Emmett leaned toward her.

"You're right," he agreed. Pulling Rosalie into his arms, he kissed her. Rosalie was taken by surprise, but she seemed just as eager.

Edward groaned in disbelief but leaned away from me, keeping one arm around my shoulder and holding my hand in his.

I leaned back and closed my eyes. Concentrating very hard, I lifted the blanket of a shield covering my thoughts. _Edward…?_

"Yes, love?" he whispered back.

_Do you think our cottage is still there?_

He smirked. "I can't imagine anyone in _this_ century stumbling upon a mansion complete with a garage, lights, and a driveway, and claiming it as their own. And Nessie lives in our cottage, remember? With Jacob. But since the cottage is technically ours – yours and mine – I imagine that we can kick the happy couple out when we return."

"Yup," I muttered. "Anyways, Jake doesn't smell _that_ bad anymore. The rest will just have to put up with him."

The more time Jacob spent with vampires – or a half-vampire, in my daughter's case – the more…normal he smelled. He didn't smell…_bad_ before, as in, he didn't have a stench around him, but his smell was too woodsy, too concentrated to be fragrant. It burned my nose a little, but it had gotten better until I could barely feel the burn at all.

I watched the landscape pass. Carlisle had one hand on the wheel, and he was holding Esme's hand in the other. My adopted father – I winced, it was so hard to wrap my head around that term, and Edward's arm instinctively tightened around me – and my adopted mother – ditto – were much more in control of their feelings than Jasper and Alice, or Rosalie and Emmett, or Edward and I.

I don't think they even do it _every_ night. Unlike the rest of us….

Suddenly, in front of us, Alice gasped.

"Alice!" Edward was leaning towards her in an instant. "What…when…_how_ could that possibly be?"

"I don't know," she whispered back. "We didn't detect any trace of them…when we went back…."

Rosalie and Emmett had broken apart immediately. From the very front, Esme was frantic at the tone of her youngest son's voice. "What is it, Edward? Tell me!"

"Others," he muttered, his jaw tense. "Just like us. Golden-eyed, pale-skinned. Five of them."

My worry climbed higher and higher, until a wave of peace washed through the car. I glared at Jasper, who was directly in front of me, and he shrugged back innocently.

"Carlisle?" asked Edward.

Throughout all this, Carlisle had remained silent. Now he spoke with calmness and authority. "I think that we shouldn't worry extensively about this. After all, they obviously don't feed on humans – their golden eyes are proof. We still outnumber them, eight to five…ten, with Renesmee and Jacob."

"Did they take our house?" asked Emmett, his voice showing _concern_ for the first time in four years. He obviously wasn't listening to our previous conversation. Edward seemed so sure that we would still have a house.

Alice seemed to be searching for clues, prying into the future, her eyes vacant, so Edward stepped in. "No, we left a note behind us, remember? And the pack and Nessie go there every week to make sure it's kept unoccupied unless we visit, or return permanently…like now. The new ones built their own house, similar to ours in size, except that they have a two-story home. Their house is across the river, in the forest over there. A mile or so away from our home."

While Emmett pondered that, Edward leaned down to whisper in my ear. "Don't worry, love," he said, pulling me closer to him. I breathed in his scent, and relaxed. "I won't let anything hurt you."

"You worry too much," I muttered. "Whatever gifts they may have, I'm probably immune to most of them."

"True."

We stared out the windows for the rest of the way, the van silent. As we headed into Forks, nonexistent tears would have sprang to my eyes. The familiar old landmarks…Newton's store was now replaced by a car shop, and a whole building complex was knocked down to give way to a brand-new mall. I felt a little bit better when I spotted a Barnes&Noble's in that mall. One good thing came out of that, at least.

"Are you sure that no one who remembers us is still alive? I mean, it's been seventy-some years, but still…." I broke the silence, finally, still staring out at the drastic changes made in the last decade and a half, for that was how long ago our last visit was.

The van was silent. We were all waiting for Alice, Edward, and Emmett to answer – they were the ones who had snuck into Forks for a few days to make sure that no one was still alive from when we were here.

Edward finally spoke. "There's one person…."

"Who?" I nearly shouted.

"Angela Weber."

_Angela?_

My best wholly human friend in Forks, Angela had been a quiet sort of girl, who always offered a shoulder to cry on – or whatever – but never prying into anyone's life. Edward had even said so. Angela was the only human who had not entertained an excessive number of fantasies involving Edward – _my_ Edward – in her thoughts. He also told me that on the day that I'd first came to Forks, Angela was the only one who wasn't thinking about you. I thought back to that time, and I remembered. She was the only one not leaning in towards me, asking a million questions about my past that I would have preferred not to be asked.

"Well, then," I said, "I guess it's fitting that Angela's the only person alive…I mean, she's been blessed with a _very_ long life."

"Indeed."

Alice had finally snapped out of her reverie. I heard Jasper's soft sigh of relief as he hugged her tight to him, pressing his lips to her spiky hair.

I pondered a whole new train of thought. _If_ Angela was still alive, I had to talk to her. I _had_ to. I wasn't afraid of the possibility of killing her – my supernatural self-control was unheard of. But I still owed her for being my one and only true mortal friend. Besides, I had more or less promised her around graduation time that I would stay in touch with her, and I had sort of let her down.

Eeriness descended on the van. It was eerie, and I noticed why, instantly. Emmett wasn't trying – _trying _– to crack everyone up.

We all stayed silent – even Emmett – all the way back to the mansion.

"We're here," Esme called back to us, not that it was completely necessary. We could all hear if she whispered as softly as she could.

As the car doors slid open, Edward leaned down to whisper in my ear. I was momentarily distracted by his beautiful, melodic voice. Even after seventy-eight years with him, he could still make me forget my worries simply by touching his lips to mine, and I savored the sound of his voice – smooth, rich, and amazing.

"Love, don't you forget – no matter _how_ bad the new coven turns out to be, I will never let them lay a finger on you, I _swear_."

I turned my head to kiss him for a moment. When I leaned back, I rolled my eyes. "Right," I murmured. "As if any vampire could hurt me. Don't forget, I'm stronger than _Emmett_. My strength _hadn't_ worn off when I was a year old in vampire terms, and don't you forget that I'm the only one that can survive very well without blood and that you all need blood to be strong but I don't so I am technically stronger than you are and – "

He stopped my lecture with a kiss. "Yes, love, and now, please shut up." I felt him smile underneath my lips, and my mouth curved upwards, too."

"Mom!"

My darling was there, waiting for us. Renesmee – or Nessie, as we called her – was waiting on the porch steps. She was, in reality, perhaps a year or two older than Edward and I, her parents. But she'd stopped aging a long while ago, and stayed that way ever since.

"Nessie!" I shouted, in joy, and dashed out the doors of the van before any of the others could. Edward was right behind me. "Mmm…oh, Nessie, I've missed you so much."

I could hear her heart beating; however, she didn't smell like other humans did. It was as if her heartbeat, her blood, her body temperature, and the fact that she didn't shine in the sunlight like we did were the only traits that made her not like us.

"I missed you too, Mom." I could smell the woodsy smell behind her, and my nose twitched.

"Hey, Bells!" called Jacob. "Long time, no see, eh?"

"Jacob!" I cried, embracing him. "Is the pack still around?"

"Hell, yeah," he snorted. "All of us. Sam and Leah and Seth and Quil and Embry and Paul and everyone."

"Glad to hear it." Edward spoke up, his voice smooth and quiet compared to ours.

"Hi, Edward." Jacob's tone was quieter, too; it was impossible to resist the calming effect his voice had on people.

"I trust that you and Nessie have been taking good care of the house?" he asked.

"Yeah. But…."

Edward was silent for a moment. "Oh," he muttered. "Yes, Alice saw them in the van. She knows how they live – much like us."

"You're not going to deliberately try to cross paths with them right now…are you?"

"No. If we meet them when we go to school, well, that's when we'll first meet. No earlier."

"Enough talk." Alice's light voice rang out behind us. "Let's get our gear unloaded and taken back to the house."

"Yes, let's," agreed Edward. He took my hand, and together, we flew into the house.

_**PLZ REVIEW!!! I've gotten a bunch of story alerts and stuff but hardly any reviews. **_


	2. The Others

The Others

EPOV

"Bella," I whispered in her ear as we got in the car – the silver Volvo, still functional after all these years – in the morning. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. Are you positively sure that you can follow through with four more years of high school…in Forks, at that? You don't have to. And you must be thoroughly sick of this by now – your graduation hat pile is growing." I laughed gently.

She grasped my hand. "I can do this," she muttered. "Besides, our schedules are the same…right?"

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "I think they should be…at least, we'll have lunch and several other periods together for sure. There aren't many options for class periods and schedules, considering that the population of Forks High hasn't grown much."

She sighed. "A.P. Russian."

"Don't let it get to your head too much," I assured her. "If you can't catch up – which, of course, you can – I'll just tell you all the answers, _very_ quietly."

Bella chuckled.

Jasper had heard us. "Don't worry, you guys. Relax…nothing's going to happen." And we felt a brief wave of peace.

"Nothing…except that I can see we're going to meet three new friends today," murmured Alice.

I had tuned her thoughts out. Now, as I instantly refocused, I saw what she saw. We were sitting at our…usual…lunch table – they hadn't even changed the placement of the tables in the cafeteria after all these years – by the window, in the corner, but we were also joined by three others. Alice's vision was murky and unclear, but I could see that there was a male and two females; one of the females was obviously in a relationship with the male.

_Oh. My. Lord. My outfit does not freaking match!_

I glanced over at Rosalie. She was wearing an emerald-green jacket over a white-and-silver-striped tank top. She was wearing a black miniskirt over tight jeans – they seemed to be exceedingly popular these few years. Fashion has been slow to change, and Alice was irritated with that, though it would have been shocking if someone wore that seventy years ago…I shrugged to myself. Her outfit looked fine to me.

Just then, I heard a mental outburst from Alice. _What the hell was she thinking?_

"Rosalie!" Alice yelped. "What was going through your mind? You can't wear that shade of green! It looks disgusting compared to your pale skin! And _blue_ jeans? I thought that we'd specifically gone over that when you wear a black mini you wear _black_ jeans, too! Unless they're white, which in that case, you have to…."

_Oh, shut UP, Alice!_

Bella leaned her head against my shoulder. "Here we go again."

_Rosalie does look weird,_ thought Emmett. "Alice, cut it out…there's nothing we can do now. I'd certainly _love_ to pull over into this mall but haven't you noticed? We don't exactly have lots of time on our hands."

"Oh, fine, Em," conceded Alice. "But Rosalie, I _insist _on having you take off that mini. You'd look better without them."

Rosalie grudgingly obeyed. _Bossy, stupid, fashionable idiot,_ she thought murderously.

"Shut up, you guys," Jasper put in. A wave of contentment and silence washed over us all, and Rosalie's negative thoughts and Alice's comments about fashion stopped.

Throughout all this, Nessie was silent. She stared dreamily out the window, looking more human than all of us. She was thinking about Jacob again. I smiled; finally, Jacob had someone he could be with like I could with my love…Bella.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I felt a sense of déjà vu. Seven decades ago, I had pulled into this very parking lot in this same car. Seven decades ago, the day that Bella came had seemed so monotonous, so usual, so ordinary. And now…we were coming back, as sophomores and juniors. The only change was that this day, seven decades ago, had made all the difference in my existence. It had changed me, from the inside out. And now we were two more in number.

_This is going to be boring,_ thought Nessie. I couldn't blame her. She was, after all, a half-human vampire going through high school. Of course she was going to have those feelings.

As soon as Emmett parked, we jumped out the van. Emmett immediately hugged Rosalie tight to him, Jasper held Alice's hand tightly, and I put an arm over Bella's shoulders. I could smell the humans, but the blood wasn't particularly attractive today. Bella held Nessie's hand, and I could hear her heartbeat speed up. Even though she had gone through at least four high schools before she went to school on the reservation with Jacob, where there were no secrets, she always had this pre-high-school anxiety.

_Edward, I can smell them! You can too, right? _

I looked back over at Alice, and she gestured meaningfully to the doors of the school. I _could_ smell the other vampires, it was true. They were very similar to us, even in scent.

_It'll be all right, see._

She showed me one of her glimpses of the future she had gotten last night while I was with Bella – when I was with my love, I tended to forget everything else. That look she had received portrayed us perhaps a year later. Nessie had become good friends with the one girl in the family without a mate. Carlisle and Esme had hit it off with the two parent figures in the coven, and the other couple had become friends with us "kids" in our family. We were playing…an interesting game of tennis while the "parents" were holding a friendly conversation. Nessie and the other girl seemed to be gossiping about school or something, like normal teenage girls would.

As we stepped into the school, I immediately smelled the vampires and could tell where they were in the school. I could hear them precisely, what they were thinking.

_I smell the new ones!_

_Are they peaceful?_

_Did they really come? Huh…._

They were silent, though their thoughts were racing. Clearly, they'd detected us as soon as we'd smelled them.

I was unable to keep concentrating on their thoughts; the students' minds were producing extremely disturbing images.

_Wow…but she's hot, man!_

_That guy should leave her, I don't see anything about her that he would like._

_I wonder what that big guy would do if I asked his girl out?_

"Hey, Em," I whispered quickly over my shoulder. "Check this out – this guy was wondering what your reaction would be if he asked Rosalie out."

_I am going to tear every limb off that youngster's body – no, that's not enough. I shall tear every finger and every toe off, one by one, then the hands, and the feet, and the limbs. And afterwards…._

"No, you're not," I muttered. "Shut up and try to make sure that everyone knows that Rosalie's yours."

So far, there had been nothing about me…or Bella, who had reached up to take my arm between hers.

Our luck was short-lived.

_Oh my gosh…his eyes are gorgeous! He should leave that girl…._

_She looks so shy…well, the quieter, the better. They don't put up any fuss when we take them home…._

I glowered at the boy materializing that train of thought. Just as I'd expected – one of those football jocks who are every bit as shallow as Rosalie. He and his friends were leaning against the wall, appraising Bella. One of them let out a low whistle, and my teeth locked together.

One of Bella's rare thoughts came through to me as she lifted her shield for a brief second. _Calm down, Edward. You know I'd cheerfully beat that guy to a slow and agonizing death if not for the fact that we'd be exposed._

My jaw loosened, and Bella put her arm around me. The football jock's thoughts turned into pure fury, directed towards me.

_I wonder…hmm, I already saw that dude at his car, so when school ends, I'll simply take a pebble, and chuck it across the parking lot. I'll either aim for his car so that it'll be damaged – probably beyond repair – or his head, so I can kill him. _I saw two futures materialize in Alice's head; one was a vision with the boy on the ground, twitching, a hole in his skull. The other was one in which his car was destroyed from that little pebble; Alice had sent it at super-speed into the gas tank, and it was good that he was running on fumes. A small explosion blackened the back of the car.

"Oh no, you're not," I whispered.

Her thoughts turned smug. _Too late._

Jasper was well in control of his emotions, even when some guys lounging around the corner were thinking inappropriately toward Alice and were making obvious jokes about her…inappropriate jokes. His eyes hardened, but there was no change otherwise.

I pulled Bella close to me as all six of us walked into the office. The secretary at the desk was, thankfully, in her fifties; she gave us no second glance as she handed over our schedules and other paperwork, bored. _How do I make a pecan pie again? Right, the graham cracker crust, one cup of sugar, a half cup of…._

Bella snatched hers out of my hand and compared them quickly. "Yes…yes…yes…oh, damn!" she exclaimed, then slammed her hand over her mouth and looked over anxiously at the secretary to see if she'd caught her cursing. _Two cups of flour, and a tablespoon…._

"We have every class together but two," she muttered, her lip sticking out slightly in a pout. I gently placed a kiss on her lips, and then looked at the difference.

I read the others' schedules quickly through their thoughts. "Well, Gym and General Music – " Was General Music really required? To learn how to play a simple minuet was nothing. Even Bella could do that – "you don't have with me, but you have General Music with Nessie, and Gym with Alice and Jasper."

She sighed. "Nessie inherited her music gene from her dad. Jasper will crush me in Gym."

I leaned down to kiss her again. The office was empty at the moment, except for the secretary, who was checking her e-mail. My hands ran over her face, and I could feel her fingers lock into my hair. "I'll be sure to let them know," I breathed.

"What?"

I tore away from her. "Alice, Jasper, be nice to Bella during Gym – you have it together. You know how she is," I added, teasing Bella.

"Of course," answered Jasper. _That is, I'll try…._

The first bell rang just then. Without taking her eyes away from the computer screen, the secretary shooed us out of the office. _Finally, peace and quiet! Without all those young teenagers! Why am I here anyways? Oh, right…I'm the substitute…._

As we walked out of the office, students in all directions stared again. The fantasies were just absolutely revolting.

_What do I say to him? 'Hi, my name is, like, Sophie, and I wanted to talk to you….'_

I turned my head just slightly in that girl's direction. Her lashes had heavy layers of mascara – I'd always considered mascara users stupid, since the point of eyelashes was to keep dirt _away_ from the eye, dark eyeshadow, and bright red lips. As soon as my head turned in her general direction, she started hyperventilating. _Oh God, he looked at me!_

Smiling gently, I bent down to Bella, who I still had my arm wrapped around. She caught onto my idea, too, and the girl named Sophie's mood abruptly changed as our lips touched. I tuned her thoughts out, and focused on this perfect girl who I was kissing.


	3. Inappropriate Conversations

Return to Forks Part 3

APOV

Forks hadn't changed much.

Except for one fact: seventy-some years ago, the students here had taken one glance at us Cullens, all paired up, and did not fall in love with us any more than what was…healthy…for them. Of course, the girls had a nice time with Edward, the only single one then. Now, though, even though we'd made our relationships clear, the girls keep falling in love with Edward, Emmett, and my Jasper, and the guys keep looking at us girls with inappropriate stares. A growl ripped out from between my teeth as I saw some girls giggling at Jasper. When a junior – football player, by the looks of it – whistled at me, Jasper's jaw locked. Suddenly, I saw Jasper at the football jock's side in an instant, picking him up…and hurling him into the locked glass cabinet of all the sports trophies that Forks had to boast of…which wasn't very many – that was why they were treasured.

Edward saw it too, and gave Jasper a hard kick in the ankle.

I pulled him tighter to me and he relaxed. I saw my vision change abruptly; it was just the six of us, and we passed the football player, and Jasper tensed but made no bad move. Edward sighed in relief.

_It was a close one, bro. Just a few more seconds and that guy would've been sports history._

He snorted, not appreciating my feeble attempt at humor. I pitied him, only imagining what disturbing images were playing themselves in his head, courtesy of the student body.

"It gets worse," he whispered.

_I feel so sorry for you._

He grimaced and shook his head.

Jasper and I were headed to Pre-cal – oh, joy – in Building Five, Edward and Bella went down to Building Three for Honors English, and Rosalie and Emmett were in Building Two, for Honors Physics.

Well, at least they changed _something_ – the fact that everything still looked almost the same as when we'd graduated was starting to give me major creeps.

"Too true," Edward agreed.

We then went our own separate ways.

Jasper's hold was almost constricting as more guys stared at me. I leaned closer to him as the girls continued fawning over him.

Suddenly, their faces blanked out, and they seemed in a rush to get to class.

"What'd you do?" I whispered.

He leaned his lips close to my ear. "I made them feel guilt."

"Guilt?" I snorted. "For what?"

His lips had now moved to my hair. "For almost being late to class."

"But there's still five minutes." I was becoming confused.

He kissed the back of my neck. "Exactly why I'm so powerful," he joked.

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, the things you can do."

"Yes, well, let's hurry along, shall we?" he asked, pulling me along. Even though I was strong, there was no doubting the smooth, fluid, iron muscles of his arms. My eyes raked over his ravaged face and the crescent-moon scars covering one side of it, but he was still beautiful to me.

I kissed the scars on his face and felt him shudder.

"You seem very…eager today," he noted, though not with dissatisfaction.

His words made me grimace. "Well, you know…first period isn't exactly my favorite class."

"We still have lunch to look forwards to with the others. And Orchestra. And we'll have Gym with Bella – next period."

I saw a flash of the future; oh, wow, we would be playing floor hockey today – I could hear the pucks sliding along the ground as early arrivers took advantage of the time to warm up – and Bella, standing with the stick held in front of her as if she was expecting the puck to fly up and hit her in the face. Not that it would hurt her, but old habits die hard. Every time the puck came toward Bella, she would hit it away immediately, not caring which direction she hit it in. Most of the time, the puck went to the opposing team. Bella's teammates were slightly irritated with her for that….

I giggled quietly. Jasper's fingers raked across my face. "What's so funny?"

"Bella…hockey…."

He groaned. "I should have known. Immortality hadn't granted _her_ any athletic skills. Even after all these years."

"Remember in Maine, at that one high school, we had to play tennis?"

"Oh, wow…."

That school was fortunate enough to have tennis courts for regular phys ed classes. As soon as the tennis ball came to her, Bella would squeal and dodge out of the way, or give a poor swing at the ball and miss entirely, or she would swing, miss, and the racket would fly out of her hand. Once, she wasn't controlling her strength, and the racket flew into one of the posts by the net, shattering immediately. Just like a…human, Bella covered her face with her hands. She actually did flush red – we had fed just the night before. Edward couldn't stop laughing, and Bella was put out with him for that….

The third bell rang. Jasper's arm was around me, and before the bell tone had cut off, we had already stepped into the Honors English class.

We were the last ones in, but we weren't _technically_ tardy. The desks were marked with post-it notes; on each was the name of a student. We were seated in alphabetical order, and I was with Jasper. I could feel the stares pointed toward us as we took our seats.

The way the girls' eyes popped out as soon as they spotted Jasper, the way the guys were looking at me – I forced myself not to become too bothered with them – I didn't need Edward's mind-reading ability to know every thought that was passing through their heads. One girl stood out to me, though – when we'd entered, she'd given Jasper and I a mere glance, one of curiosity, and went back to sketching on her drawing pad. I felt slightly hopeful – perhaps there was an Angela Weber Jr. of some sorts in this school.

Jasper and I could hear the hushed conversations as easily as if they were being shouted.

_"Oh, man, look at that girl, she's hot!" _

_"Good luck getting her, Daniel."_

So the football jock's name was Daniel. I shot a murderous glance at the boy, but he didn't interpret it the way I'd meant for it to be taken.

_"Dang, you guys, she looked at me!"_

_"Right. I'm sure it was a look of pure love."_

_"Dudes, I'm serious!"_

Gritting my teeth, I turned to the girls' conversations. Which, of course, turned out to be no better.

_"OMG, will you like LOOK at that guy? He is so hot."_

_"Mmm, hell yeah, I know."_

_"I wonder why she's with that, like, dark-haired girl? She looks like a total freak."_

_"Who knows what, like, goes on inside their heads? Still…he's so…oh my god!"_

I was going to do something to those dirty-minded girls that they would carry with them to their grave. As soon as I'd thought that, a vision popped up in my head. I was walking casually toward that group of girls, when I'd grabbed one of them by her neck, swung her around into a pole, and kept walking as if nothing had happened. Jasper's shock…Edward's fury...Esme's worry...Carlisle's frustrating calmness when we arrived home.... Okay, so I wouldn't do it today…and the vision disappeared.

The entire period was utterly boring. We had to take out all our school supplies for this class for the teacher to check, and then the teacher introduced herself. Her name was Ms. Remira, and that was all I needed to know.

I decided to look into random bits of the future, knowing that a few buildings away, Edward was reading my mind to keep himself from committing suicide out of utter boredom.

Carlisle would get a heart attack victim in fifty-two minutes and thirty-eight seconds, Esme would find the seeds for her garden that she was looking for in seventeen minutes…approximately, Emmett would provoke Bella after school…oh, this was fascinating.

"_I swear, Emmett McCarty Cullen, the next time you say _anything_ about Edward or me, in that sense, or our relationship, in front of unaware humans, I will kill you myself. Tear you to bits and burn the pieces!"_

_"I'd like to see you try, little sister!"_

_Bella shrugged. "Hey, Emmett, do you want to play 'Mercy'?"_

_"Up for anything."_

_Bella held her hand up. Emmett instinctively reached up to grab it. Bella suddenly yanked his arm back, against itself; Emmett yelled in pain._

_"I take that back, Bella! You can beat me any day! Ow…oh…my…dang…BELLA! LET GO!"_

_"You have to say 'Mercy'! That's the point of the game!"_

_"MERCY!"_

_Bella let go. Emmett rubs his arm. "I swear, Bella, I shall never underestimate you again."_

_She shrugged. "I saw two humans playing that game in the hallway, before we walked in."_

I very nearly burst out laughing in front of the whole class. During the whole vision, Ms. Remira had told us about her personal past, teaching experience, etc., etc., and had told us to turn to page four. I was becoming a pro at this – my mind was minutes, or hours, or days, or weeks, or months…away, and yet I could still do anything I was told to, without actually knowing what I was doing. As I stared at the page labeled "Introduction to Pre-calculus, discrete mathematics, and more", I wondered if I was becoming insane. I had degrees in math – six undergraduate degrees, three master's degrees, and two doctor's degrees – science, and language arts. Now, I'd always dreaded any high school math class.

Intro to Pre-cal, indeed. Jasper could taste my irritation and chuckled so softly that only I could hear.

I thought the period would never end. I was out of my seat a second _before_ the bell rang, snatching up my homework. I would finish it in about half a minute…I supposed that I should wait until I got in the car, at least.

"Will you tell me what was so funny?" he asked, lifting my face up to look at mine as we stood by our lockers – assigned in alphabetical order, too. I was so lucky, but I saw Edward and Bella coming, so I'd better make it fast – and quiet. "Emmett decided to underestimate Bella's strength and she totally killed him. It'll happen after school's over."

He chuckled. "I can hardly wait," he replied.

Edward looked at me, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

_Keep it from Bella, will you, Edward?_ I pleaded mentally.

He gave me the merest nod. Bella stared at us curiously. "What are you guys keeping from me?" she asked suspiciously.

I grinned at her. "You'll find out!"

Bella groaned. She absolutely hated surprises. "It'll be in your favor, though."

"Whatever. I have Gym to endure now."

Jasper looked at Bella's martyred expression and cracked up.

Laughter must be truly infectious – and distracting. Edward's annoyance, Bella's curiosity, Jasper's brief moment of humor all melted at the sound of our laughter.


	4. Gym Class

Return to Forks Part 4

JPOV

Gym! Oh, Bella was having the time of her life.

My little Alice was right – we _were_ playing floor hockey. So far, Bella had been hit four times, bruised six humans, and tripped three times. Every time the puck came near her, she acted as if a twenty-pound bowling ball were flying towards her head at eighty miles per hour.

But the most sickening were the _feelings_ coming from the humans when the three of us walked into the gym. They were beyond disgusting. I shuddered involuntarily.

Alice laughed. I looked around to see what was funny. She shook her head and whispered, "It'll happen in five…four…three…."

I kept my eyes on Bella.

The puck was sliding across the floor towards her…and she scored.

Right into her own goal.

I scowled; I was on Bella's team. Alice laughed a gentle, carefree laugh.

"No…." groaned an athletic-looking girl to my right. She didn't seem to be as infatuated with me as the rest of the females in the gym did, but her emotions were anything but kind – they were utterly malevolent. Now she was frowning in Bella's direction. I growled gently.

Alice placed one hand on my cheek. "Easy," she warned. "Don't let her get to you."

I took a deep breath. "Easy. Right."

Bella's cheeks were the faintest shade of pink; she was _blushing_. Literally. I stared at her until I could realize why: all of us always looked just a bit more human-colored, as far as our complexions went, when we fed. Bella didn't really need to feed – it wasn't crucial to her. The blood from her prey that she fed off of when we went hunting last week was still plentiful in her body, apparently. The flush in her cheeks would not be visible to a human; it was barely visible to me.

Laughing, I went over to Bella. "Giving up yet?" I teased.

She glared at me through slanted eyes. "I _told_ the teacher to put me out," she complained. "But no…I have to play."

"Yeah, it sucks to be you," I agreed with feeling.

Staring at her, I calmed her down. I focused hard to stop her from hyperventilating but to not affect the humans near me. They would feel peaceful…but suspicious…if they felt a wave of calmness right next to me.

She glanced up with grateful eyes. "Thanks, Jasper."

Alice bounded over and put one hand over Bella's shoulder. "Yeah, I know what that feels like, Bella. Don't worry, your teammates will forgive you." Certainty rolled off her in waves. I hugged Alice to my chest.

"Oh, do you really?" muttered Bella. "I'll bet that _you_'ve never scored in the wrong goal before."

Alice chuckled ruefully. "Yeah, you're right. I haven't."

I glanced back towards the center of the room. Some of the boys in the gym were feeling more attracted to Bella _because_ of that. I shuddered. Edward would be very, very angry. Her female teammates, on the other hand….

"I hate Gym!" she moaned.

"Yeah, we kind of figured that out," said Alice, her lips twitching. I could feel her amusement and jabbed her in the ribs gently. This was hardly the right time or place for any amusement.

"Hey!" the girl who was frowning at Bella called to us. "You two sitting out?"

"Yes," I replied. "You can send in Kevin and Anna." The two players that were sitting out before seemed too happy to take our places in the game.

"I'll sit out," volunteered Alice.

The gym classes were too big; when we divided into teams, some people always had to sit out. I was happy to comply; Bella needed to calm down.

Alice sighed. "Bella," she began. "I know you hate Gym, but unless you try to be a little more attentive and careful and aware when you play sports, I'm going to have to train you to embrace athletics at home, and you _definitely_ don't want – "

"No!" yelped Bella. "Fine, fine! I'll play!" She glared at Alice. "You're forcing me to go to extremes, Alice. Why do you have to be so _pushy_?!"

"Because I feel like it," answered Alice, perfectly at ease.

Bella gave a gusty sigh. "I can't promise anything, though. Immortality didn't grant me any athletic abilities, you know. Just amazing self-control and strength and speed and everything else that automatically comes with – "

Alice slapped one hand over Bella's mouth. "Shut up, please," she said in a sweet voice. "I'm asking you try."

"Fine." Bella gave up, and I could feel her frustration leaking through despite the cover of peace I gave her. "But you know, I won't be able to become a pro. I'm going to simply bear it and ditch Gym every chance I have."

Alice laughed her high, beautiful laugh. "That's the spirit!"

Bella sighed again.  
The teacher blew on her whistle.

"All right, everyone!" Mrs. Chancelet shouted in her loud voice – loud for a human, that is. "Switch!"

I got up and pulled Alice with me. Bella's shoulders slumped and she headed grumpily to the field. Alice stood up on her tiptoes to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Bella will be better," she assured me.

Smiling, I ran my lips along her forehead.

"Let's go," she whispered.

As the puck flew around the gym, I could feel no determination whatsoever from Bella. She seemed to be content to let things go the way they were. The puck came towards me, and I hit it to Bella. Athletic-girl groaned again beside me. "Why did you hit it to _her?_" she muttered under her breath.

Bella seemed to be slightly more prepared this time. She held her hockey stick up and hit the puck with more strength…straight to Athletic-girl. The shock from the humans in the gym was almost tangible; I couldn't blame them. Bella was the klutz in the gym, always hitting the puck out, to the other team…or in her own goal, and she'd actually hit it to a teammate? Amazing!

"What did I tell you?" Alice whispered from across the gym. I could hear her easily, though no other human could have detected it.

"Wow," I whispered back.

Athletic-girl hit it straight into Alice's team's goal.

The smile on Alice's face disappeared into a slight frown.

Three sharp blasts on a whistle came from behind me.

Mrs. Chancelet was standing there, hands on hips. "Okay! Put your hockey sticks away, and go change! Whoever has the puck, bring it to me. It's a tie today."

Without further ado, I sprinted to the locker room. Forks High had changed in another way – the locker rooms were big enough so that we could each have our own locker. I chose the one that was out of the way, in the corner. I changed alone; I obviously never needed to shower, and the stench in the locker room was revolting.

I ran back out into the gym, changed, as fast as I could without attracting attention. Alice was already there, and the gym was vacant except for us. I glanced at the clock; we still had five minutes before any human would be done showering.

Alice dashed to my side in an instant. I hugged her to my chest, and she sighed happily. Her small form was so delicate, and so lovely. She pulled my head down to kiss me.

"Ah, Alice," I murmured.

She laughed. "It never lets up." I knew what she meant instantly; her feelings for me were strong.

I bent my head down to kiss her again. After I let go, my eyes darted to the clock.

She knew what I was thinking. "Jasper," she sighed. "It'll be _okay_. The others – " we'd already begun to refer to them that way – "are peaceful, like us. I got another glimpse of lunchtime in the locker room. Speaking of which, Bella will be out in twenty-two seconds. Anyway, they're not out looking for trouble. They know that we're here, of course, but they're not out for any trouble. They went to middle school here, too – they seem a few years, you know, in that sense, younger than us when they were changed. They passed for middle schoolers."

I sighed. "I just hope that we don't have any conflict."

She feigned offense. "Excuse me, Jasper Whitlock Cullen? Are you doubting my vision?"

Chuckling, I bent my lips to hers again. "Of course not," I whispered against her lips.

When I tilted my head up from her face, Bella was emerging quietly from the girls' locker room. Waves of eagerness emanated from her; she was looking forward to her next class, no doubt, when she would be with Edward again. I was slightly depressed; I would have the next period without Alice. I would be with Renesmee. She always seemed like my sister, sort of…she was supposed to be my niece, but she was so frivolous, so alive…the term _niece_ didn't fit her. I was glad that her blood held no attraction to me. Edward would have ripped me to pieces already if he'd picked up any bloodlust in my thoughts when I was around his daughter.

So would Bella, for that matter.

The bell rang, and Bella walked out the gym with us. "See you, Alice, Jasper," she bid us goodbye, and then walked down the hall to her next class.

I sighed; it was going to be a long period of Honors English without Alice. "Bye, love," I whispered as I kissed her quickly on the cheek.

"Bye, Jazz, love you," she called. She hugged me once more as she headed down the hall.

I sighed as I watched her head to her next class. Then I braced myself for another almost-hour of great works of literature.


	5. Anticipation

Return to Forks Part 5 – Anticipation

RPOV

I gazed at my reflection in the glass windows of the room, satisfied with what I saw. Beside me, Emmett wrapped a long, muscular arm around my shoulders. He gazed at me as if he were pleased with what he saw, too.

I was so relieved that I could run fast today. I never thought I'd see the day when I would be glad to be a vampire – yet the day had arrived. The outfit I had on previously was absolutely _hideous_ – Alice was right. With my strength and speed, however, I had made it to the nearest clothing store in under thirty seconds, picked out an outfit in one minute and ten seconds, swished the credit card through, and ran at top speed back again. It was all under three minutes. All before the bell rang, too.

Well, of course Edward would know…but he'd never tell Alice.

_Right?_ I thought the word with what I hoped was a menacing edge.

When Alice saw her credit card, though – in my haste to beat the bell, I'd grabbed the nearest available credit card, which happened to be Alice's – she would have a fit. Not because of my new outfit, but simply because I'd used her credit card.

I sighed. She was so possessive….

"All right, class, turn to page thirteen in your textbook," instructed Mr. Arlmidre – such a strange name, some students were calling him Mr. A – and turned to draw a diagram on the board. "Today, we will be reviewing material you learned in this language, up to last year. Who can tell me…?"

My thoughts wandered as I tried to look attentive, but I was utterly bored of this. I'd stopped counting how many times I'd taken high-school level Spanish…even _advanced_…. even A.P…. Ugh! I groaned softly as I tried desperately to keep the irritating whine of Mr. A's voice out of my head.

Emmett and I were supposedly the two "youngest" students in this class. Youngest…I suppose, given that we were sophomores that it was rather surprising to some people that we were in A.P. Spanish.

"Anything wrong, love?" Emmett asked anxiously, his voice inaudible to humans.

I shook my head. "Ugh. _High school_."

"The younger we are, the better," he reminded me.

"I know."

He reached over to grab my hand and stroked it soothingly. "It'll be all right."

I snorted. "Yeah. All right. Sure…why not? It's perfectly fine when I feel like committing _suicide_ out of utter _boredom_."

Em winced slightly, and I immediately felt sorry for being so harsh. I reached out to hug him quickly, reassuringly. "Sorry, Emmett…."

"It's okay," he muttered.

At times like those, I wished fiercely that I had a talent like Edward's, or Alice's. They, at least, had something else to distract them from the boring human routines. We were so unlucky.

"Em...mett?" called Mr. A, finding the outdated name unfamiliar. The teacher wore a triumphant smirk on his face, sure that he'd caught Emmett and I zoning out in his class…oh, the horror, the horror. I fervently hoped that Em knew what Mr. A had just said. I had no idea. From the snickers that were rising from the class, however, I assumed that the question that Mr. A – or Monsieur A, he preferred us to call him – was ridiculously rudimentary.

"Réspondez S'il Vous Plâit," replied Emmett, with not a moment of hesitation.

Mr. A looked a little taken aback. "Hmm…that's correct."

The question was most likely asking what RSVP meant. Rudimentary, indeed.

I sighed and started fidgeting with the hem of my shirt, being careful not to rip anything.

Even though we didn't look up, Emmett and I could feel the stares of the other young, inexperienced, immature sophomores. The new kids in the class were _so_ hot, that was probably what they were thinking. Stupid, stupid technically-older-than-us people. They had absolutely no sense whatsoever of self-preservation, it seemed. It was agony to sit and do nothing…just to endure the stares like they were nothing.

Out of my periphery, I could see a cluster of girls practically swooning when they saw Emmett. I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands together in a giant fist underneath the table, out of sight. Emmett carelessly threw an arm over my shoulders again, and I took some comfort from that. The boys were throwing death stares at Emmett – the phrase _if looks could kill_ appeared in my mind, for that seemed to be the perfect description of the looks of hate – and I wished that I could dash across the room and push a hand into their skulls.

Emmett's arm tightened in warning.

I sighed and forced myself to relax against the seat.

Gradually, the heads turned back around to the front of the classroom again, to focus on Mr. A. My shoulders sagged in relief – even I grew supremely uncomfortable under their stares.

I could have wept with relief when the ugly bell tone sounded. Emmett and I swept our books up into our arms gracefully, and were out of the room perhaps _too_ quickly. The next period had to be better than the previous – our whole family had study hall together, since we were separated into different classes alphabetically. We could keep a "silent" conversation going for the whole period and the humans would still be totally oblivious. Relief!

As Emmett and I headed hand in hand back to Building One for study hall, I heard Edward asking Alice something as they headed out of the same building.

_"Why were you singing that silly little French song we learned in Niles West eight years ago? In _Chinese_?"_

_"Why shouldn't I?"_

_"ALICE!"_

_"WHAT?!"_

_"What. Are. You. Hiding. From. Me?"_

_"You'll find out!" _

At that point, the threesome came into sight. Edward's arm was around Bella's waist, hugging her to him – what else could we expect? – and Bella was listening to the exchange with a small smile on her lips.

It was still slightly difficult to repress the slight feeling, the twinge, in my heart whenever I saw Bella, especially with Edward. I knew that it was irrational to feel that way when I had my Emmett with me and our whole family was paired up all nice and happily and nothing was happening. But still…that feeling that I harbored in my heart, unconsciously, tortured me. I couldn't stop feeling like Bella was somehow superior to me in some obvious way. Why else would Edward stare at her from the day he met her but spare no second glance for me?

I smacked my forehead.

Edward pretended that he hadn't heard my thoughts, but I could see the furrow that his eyebrows made that he had.

Emmett grabbed my hand off my forehead. "What's wrong, Rose?"

"Ugh. Nothing," I replied.

He looked at Edward, who just looked back. Em finally gave up with a shrug, and kept walking.

"Are you _serious_?" hissed Edward, glancing around the room. "We haven't even bumped into the others the whole day!"

"No kidding," murmured Alice, with that familiar far-off look in her face. "But I _told_ you, Edward, we would meet them at _lunch_. Don't undermine me."

Edward groaned. "You're so annoying," he muttered.

My nostrils flared as we walked into the study hall room. When did they last sweep this place? 2031? I watched, irritated, as specks of dust floated down on us. I started picking the dust off my clothes; I knew that that was very stupid, as no one other than us could see it, but still, it bothered me.

Edward laughed, which he turned into a cough. I shot him a death glare.

As we settled down at a table, Renesmee joined us. She sat down at the only available seat, between Jasper and I. As she put her books down, her hand brushed against mine, and I saw her mind for a moment.

Jacob. Of course her mind was on the mutt. I still hadn't completely forgiven him for getting food in my hair back before Nessie was born. Sighing, I scribbled through my worksheet, though my handwriting was close to perfect. I finished the entire three pages of math homework in that few seconds. As my hatred towards the dog continued to burn, Edward's face became more and more amused.

_Could you at least _try_ to control your emotions? Or have you never heard of a poker face?_

His face reset itself into that emotionless mask.

Emmett wrapped an arm around my waist. "Don't worry, love," he whispered in my ear. "I won't let those new ones get you."

I kissed him back, but with a bit of exasperation. "You do know that I can take care of myself, right?"

He laughed. "Of course," he murmured. He planted a gentle kiss on my neck.

I sighed in contentment.

After tearing through my workload so far from the morning, I had nothing to do but stare at the clock again. I was aware, through my boredom, of the eyes trained on us like they had been all day, and I felt a twinge of satisfaction that everyone's eyes were on me.

Though the thoughts going through some of the boys' heads I could live without.


	6. Encounter

Return to Forks Part 6 – Encounter

EmPOV

"The dreaded lunch hour," Edward whispered.

"Ew. Food." Rosalie shuddered under my arm.

I pulled her tighter. "Come on, Rose, it'll be all right. Just fake it."

"And don't buy too much," added Jasper. "It's sort of a waste, to buy lunch every day and not eat it."

"Yes, a waste," agreed Alice. "People have to grow these crops. They don't appear like that." She snapped her fingers.

Bella's eyes lit up. "I'll eat it," she volunteered.

We just stared at her.

Finally, I broke the silence. "What?!"

"I'll eat it," she repeated.

Edward seemed torn. "Bella…." He trailed off, and then started again. "Bella, you know that I would be the last to second-guess your choices, but are you _sure_?"

"Yeah, Bella!" Alice was right beside Edward in a flash. "How can you eat that disgusting, oily, greasy, overcooked cafeteria food?"

"It's only like that to you," Bella contradicted. "And let me tell you, I can remember the 'oily, greasy, overcooked cafeteria food' well from my days. And schools have made a big improvement since then, let me tell you."

"But _food_! How can you eat it?" muttered Rosalie, hissing in revulsion.

Bella suddenly looked embarrassed. "Okay, so up until very, very recently, I hadn't eaten food for all this time. But this morning I saw an unopened bag of chips and I don't know what came over me and I just ripped the bag open and I swallowed the chips and I thought it was going to be really disgusting but it wasn't and so I kept on eating and they tasted just like they did in human years and – "

"Love," cut in Edward. "Can you stop for a minute?"

She stopped, and took in a deep breath.

"First," he began. "you're killing yourself by talking without oxygen."

Nice joke, Eddie-kinz. He scowled at me when I used our little annoying pet name for him. "Second, don't explain why you aren't disgusted by human food like the rest of us."

Eddie-kinz has gone crazy.

The subject glared a murderous glance at me. As if he could hurt me! Abruptly, his face changed, and he muffled his laughter under his hand.

"What, Eddie-kinz?" I growled aloud.

He shook his head and proceeded with his speech. "Third, we're getting very, very close to the other vampires – if none of you can smell them, I'm assuming that you'll need a checkup from Carlisle – and I don't want any of you exposing your talents or anything at first, or until they expose their own. If they're the first, then yes, you can use your own. Is that clear?"

Yes, sirree. That caused the most murderous glance yet.

"I'm watching you, old man," he declared. Alice laughed. It did no good to call any of us "young", seeing as Bella was well over eighty and she was the youngest in the group, apart from Nessie.

Ah, Nessie. She hadn't spoken much today. The girls seemed friendly enough to her, as far as I could tell, but the guys were acting inappropriately. I wished that Jacob was here, so I could see some human brains on the ground. Edward looked up at me, exasperated.

"Please, Emmett!"

Whatever.

In a much lower voice, he whispered, "The separation's slightly painful. Be nice."

Nessie's gaze snapped to us. "I heard that," she accused. "Don't talk to me like I'm not here."

"Ooh," I muttered. "Disrespecting your elders – Daddy's going to spank you for that," I teased.

"Shut. UP!" both Edward and Nessie shouted in unison.

"You're still disrespecting your elders," I murmured.

"Must I remind you, Emmett, that I am a few decades older than you?"

Technically, though –

"But we aren't talking in technical terms."

Says who?

"Says I. And if you would be so kind as to _shut up_, oh…no. The others heard us talking. They're contemplating how to shut you up now, too."

Okay, that wasn't exactly the best first impression.

Rosalie elbowed me in the ribs. "Why is it always you, Emmett?"

I grinned down at her. "Don't blame me, it's a natural trait of mine."

"Hmph," grunted Bella.

Alice and Jasper were sort of lost in their own little utopia there, gazing into each others' eyes.

"Alice, Jasper, save this for tonight, please?" pleaded Edward.

We were to the entrance of the cafeteria by this point. Being taller than everybody, I could see easily into the large, spacious room. I spotted them immediately.

Three of them. Two females, one male. A brunette, a blonde, and a redhead. Two juniors and a freshman.

How could this _be? _

They were sitting at _our_ table!

"That's the least of our worries, Emmett," annoying Eddie-kinz muttered.

The others, having seen us immediately, sat unmoving and wary. As we made our way to that table, I could feel the gazes of everyone we passed. Poor Eddie-kinz; he had to see what they were thinking.

As we arrived at our previous table, a queer feeling washed over us all, one that even Alice didn't see coming.

All of a sudden, we knew. The blonde male was Timothy, the redheaded female who was obviously with Timothy was Isabelle – I saw Bella stiffen – and the brunette female was Tatiana. Their parental figures were William, who worked as a lawyer, and Alena, who was mostly a stay-at-home mom, like Esme.

Of the five of them , two had gifts. Isabelle was the one who had just 'subtly' introduced them all to us, and Tatiana was very interesting – she could stop anything from affecting the object of her focus.

We were shocked into silence until I broke it, again.

"How the hell did you do that?"

Isabelle smiled wanly at me. "Oh, I think you know already."

Timothy and Tatiana just stared at us.

"Oh, excuse me," apologized Edward, ever the gentleman. "It's very rude of us to not introduce ourselves when you have already. I'm Edw – "

"Edward, Bella, Renesmee, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett," Isabelle finished for him. "My power works in reverse, too."

Us Cullens exchanged glances. "I believe that we have much to discuss." Edward was slightly taken aback at Isabelle's gift.

Bella looked confused. "Wait…what are you doing? Did I miss something again?" she frowned.

FM frequency, huh, Edward?

"Oh, love, Isabelle had just sort of introduced them to us," he explained. "I'm sorry, I'd forgotten that you…."

Isabelle's brow furrowed, and relaxed a second later. "Oh, I see. So, Bella, I am Isabelle, my mate is Timothy here, and this is our sister, Tatiana. I can introduce people suddenly and subtly, if I choose to, and it's as if they'd introduced me to them, too. So that's how I know the basic facts about your…coven." She paused. "Tatiana has a power, too. She can stop anything – physical or mental – from happening to whatever object she's focusing on. Our parents are William and Alena."

"Um…." Bella glanced at Edward.

"I'll explain later," he promised.

"So, you, Bella, can stop anything from entering your mind?" asked Timothy, speaking for the first time.

"If I choose to," replied Bella. "I can take away my shield."

"Bella, why not right now?" I suggested, with a good idea for once. Edward nodded in agreement to my _good idea_ revelation. "So you can be introduced, too."

"All right," she muttered. "Here goes."

A second later, she smiled. "Got it," she said with a smile.

Edward glanced at Tatiana. "No, Renesmee is not fully human."

She leaned back, shocked. "Did you just…."

"Read your mind? Yes," he answered.

Isabelle's eyes darted from Edward to Bella to Nessie. "Oh, I see. And you like to call her Nessie."

Bella rolled her eyes. I couldn't help but agree. It wasn't _my_ doing – not at all. This time, I was not to blame. It was the dog. Edward glanced at me sharply.

The whole conversation had lasted about twenty seconds so far, and we were incomprehensible to humans except for the few tidbits of harmless information we had no need to keep secret.

There was another moment of quiet.

"Awkward silence," I coughed.

That did it – there was nervous laughter all around.

"Well, I think we need to get our food," said Alice.

Timothy smiled pityingly. "It's especially disgusting today – hold your breaths," he warned.

"Oh, look, Edward!" exclaimed Bella. "It's the salad bar today! I remember the last time I had a halfway decent meal from a salad bar – I made a salad I nicknamed the Sears Tower salad, and I'm going to make it right…now…."

"Yes," answered Edward, but looking at Timothy. "We just found out today that she can, in fact, swallow that vile shit."

I stared at Edward. He so very rarely cursed, especially in front of Bella – or any lady, for that matter – but this was excusable. The especially disgusting odor that wafted from the kitchen nearly made me gag. As it was, I _did_ choke a little bit. All right, not a little bit, but more like a nine-one-one coughing fit. Rosalie's breathing abruptly stopped, and she fanned the air with her hand. Jasper and Alice had simply stopped inhaling.

"Edward," Bella reprimanded him.

He kissed her forehead softly. "I know, love. I'm sorry."

"Okay, so we need to see Bella's trademark salad," I joked. Timothy and Isabella leaned back, while Tatiana still made no movement.

"We'll be right back," Edward promised them.

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	7. New Friends

Return to Forks Part 7 – New Friends

NPOV

I held Mom's hand as I walked. _How in…can you think about touching that, Mom? Let alone _eat_ it_!

She smiled ruefully down at me. "What can I say? Wouldn't _you_ be hungry – no, never mind. You've never had pizza in your life, have you?"

_I did once…Em dared me to._ I was allowed to refer to the members of my family by his or her first name. Except for Mom and Dad, whom I had to refer to as Mom and Dad, naturally. I had to call them Bella and Edward when oblivious humans were nearby, however. They'd freak if I was a seventeen-year-old with seventeen- and eighteen-year-old parents. I wouldn't blame them. Mom smiled at my musing.

"How did it taste?"

I showed her my feelings as that horrible little blob of oily, sticky, cheesy grease slid slowly down my throat and landed in my stomach with an almost-audible thud. Emmett had howled his head off. Mom shuddered.

"Ew," she muttered. Seeing Mom like this, it was extremely hard to treat her as a _mom_. She _was_ my age, technically, and so was Dad. They seemed…so…not like what other parents were like. I didn't mind, though. They were still Mom and Dad.

"So…famous trademark Sears Tower salad, Mom?" I joked.

"Coming right up."

I watched in fascination as she spread a layer of lettuce on the plate, a layer of croutons on top of that, another layer of lettuce, a thin layer of bacon bits, another layer of lettuce, a layer of diced tomatoes, another layer of lettuce, a layer of onions, another layer of lettuce, ranch, another layer of lettuce, honey mustard dressing, another layer of lettuce, Italian dressing, another layer of lettuce, a layer of cheese, another layer of lettuce, a layer of sausage, another layer of lettuce, and finally, two toothpicks for the antennae of the Tower with olives sticking out of them.

Emmett took one look and was doubled over laughing so hard that the grandmotherly lunch lady looked at him over her glasses in concern.

She grinned in triumph. "What do you think?"

Impressive. It was nine and a half inches tall, not including the toothpicks. Dad wrapped his arm around Mom and chuckled into her hair. "You never cease to amaze me, love."

Mom had balanced it out nicely so that each layer was just the tiniest bit smaller than the last, so that it wouldn't fall over. The lunch lady's eyes widened in shock as she took in the spectacle of a salad. "Is the salad bar all?" she stammered.

"Yes, please," replied Mom politely.

I heard Timothy, Isabelle, and Tatiana's muffled laughter as they saw what Mom was going to eat. "Seriously?" Timothy muttered.

"Yes, seriously," Mom replied, unruffled.

As we sat down, Alice and Dad laughed in unison. Mom grabbed her fork, looked down at her monstrous half-lettuce creation with an ambivalent look, and took a bite.

We all watched her facial expressions.

Her face was at first hesitant, and then thoughtful as she chewed the salad, and finally pleased. "That was delicious; you guys are missing out on a _lot_!" she declared, going in for another bite.

Um, no, we're not.

Isabelle chuckled. "So, who wants to start?" she asked, brisk and right to the point. "My power only tells me the basics. It doesn't let me know who you _really_ are."

"I will," Jasper's quiet voice came from my left. I looked at him, a tad bit surprised. He'd been extremely silent since we'd walked into the cafeteria.

"As you know, I'm Jasper. I can read a person's emotions and I can change them, too. They're physical changes. My mate is Alice – " he wrapped an arm around her " – and I've been a vampire for two and a half centuries, more or less."

"I'm Alice," Alice continued. "I don't remember anything from my past as a human at all, or who changed me, or anything. I can see the future, but my visions change often, depending on people's decisions. I can't see the decisions, though." She grinned as she added, "I met Jasper in a small restaurant. That was way before we'd met the rest of them. We'd actually lived on our own for a few years, and strayed from human blood."

There was a slight pause.

"I'm Rosalie," Rosalie said quickly, gazing around the nine faces. "I don't have many special powers, and I'm a over a century and a half – but not quite two centuries, not yet. Carlisle – our father – changed me. I'm with Emmett." She leaned back and closed her eyes.

Emmett spoke next. "I'm Emmett, and I don't exactly have a gift, either. I'm two years younger than Rosalie, so to speak. We met when she found me being chewed up from a bear. Carlisle created me, too."

Huh. That was strange – Emmett hadn't even inserted a joke. Time to celebrate! That quickly ended when Emmett added, "They've been my favorite snacks ever since."

Ugh. Bears were too tough. I liked faster prey, even though they were smaller.

Mom's mouth opened. "My name is Bella," she said in her soft voice, glancing at Isabelle. "Like you know, I can block any powers that have to do with minds. I can take away that shield, too, any time I want. It just takes a bit of effort. I'm seventy-eight years old, not counting my human years. Edward created me." She gazed into Dad's eyes with an expression of what could only be love.

Dad's arm tightened around Mom. "I'm Edward. Carlisle changed me when I was dying of Spanish flu – I was the first in his family, or coven, whatever you want to call it. I'm nearly two centuries old, and I met Bella when I was a hundred or so, in high school. Her blood was extremely tempting for me, and I found myself in love with her in spite of that." I heard Emmett making gagging noises, and Rosalie shushing him. "We got married before she was changed, and she had Renesmee. Oh, and I can read minds."

With a jolt, I realized that it was my turn. "Um, yeah. I'm Renesmee, but you can call me Nessie, if you want, whatever…I'm half-and-half, and, uh, I do have a special power that's really hard to explain."

Isabelle's eyes narrowed. "Yes, I couldn't understand either, when I saw you. Perhaps you can show us?"

I glanced at Dad, and he gave me a quick nod.

Taking a deep breath, I held my hand out to Isabelle. I thought about my first moments as a child, so I wouldn't have to re-explain those memories. She reached out to touch it gently.

Her eyes lightened. "Ah, I see," she murmured, and withdrew her hand.

Timothy was next. "May I?" he asked. I nodded, and he touched my hand quickly. He seemed surprised, but understood. "Oh," he murmured.

Tatiana was next. There was something that made me think of something else. I quickly thought about one time, when I was in a meadow with Mom and Dad. I was still about two and a half, if a year counted as a full 365.2…days, but I had the appearance of a seven-year-old. I was chasing butterflies. They were no match for my speed, and I had them in my hands soon enough. I felt their soft wings, and after a moment, I let them go.

In her eyes, Tatiana seemed to seem awed. "Cool," she whispered.

We laughed at her term. "Enough about us, let's get on to you guys," suggested Alice, in her singsong voice.

"My name's Timothy, like you know," began Timothy. "And please don't call me Tim, Timmy, or any other nickname." There were chuckles all around, but we let him continue. "I was created by my father, William – he prefers being called Will – and I'm nearly a hundred and forty. I was killed before the civil rights movement, because my father was defending a black man accused of a crime." He shook his head in disgust. "People's minds back then!" he muttered in revulsion.

"I'm – oh my gosh! – Isabelle, and you know what I can do already. I'm only sixty-eight years old. I don't know who created me; I was asleep while he, or she, changed me. I'd depended on myself for survival for a few years until I encountered the rest."

We all looked at Tatiana, and she fidgeted and looked down – unusual for a vampire.

"She reminds me of Bella as a human," Emmett fake-whispered. Dad kicked him – extremely hard, in the shin – and Mom groaned.

"Okay," she muttered. "I'm Tatiana, and I was changed in Russia. I'd lived my whole human life there, and I was changed when I bumped into a vampire who was thirsty. He bit me already, but then another one came and hauled him away. I'm a hundred years – exactly, including my human years."

"How does your gift work, exactly?" Jasper asked, curiosity taking over him. "I didn't get it at first."

Tatiana nodded, unsurprised. "Okay, uh, Emmett, come here and try to punch Jasper." I stifled a laugh at her choice of words.

"Oh, sweet! A chance to inflict violence on a member of our family and getting away with it!" Em had a gleam in my eyes that worried me.

I spoke up. "Shouldn't you set some limits? I'm kind of scared. You know, for Jasper."

"Emmett, if you break off a part of his body, I'm going to kick you where it hurts," vowed Alice.

While the humans' attentions were momentarily distracted, Emmett struck Jasper with a lightning-fast blow to the shoulder. I winced.

Jasper had closed his eyes, bracing himself from the pain. Finally, he opened one eye. "Hurry up and hit me!" he hissed already.

Emmett looked stunned. "I did!" he hissed back.

Tatiana had leaned back, triumphant. I flashed her a quick grin. "Nice work," I complimented her.

She chuckled softly. "Thanks." She turned to Jasper. "So, did you feel anything?"

"Nope."

"And Emmett? How did it feel like, punching him?"

"It felt like punching a glass wall that even we can't tear down," he answered, still amazed.

"That's how it works. And – wait, who can read minds again?"

Dad nodded. "I can."

"Okay, someone, think some thoughts directed to him." Tatiana stared at Dad with strong concentration.

Dad was motionless. Finally, he opened his eyes. "Did you guys even think anything?" he asked.

Emmett's eyes popped. "I was cussing at you mentally! You didn't hear that?!"

Alice smiled. "I was referring to the times when you and Bella – "

Jasper's hand clamped over her mouth. "They don't need the gory details."

Just then, the bell rang.

Dad stood up. "So, apparently, we shall continue this discussion. Would you like to come with us to our home after school?"

Timothy agreed. "No problem."

Dad looked at Isabelle. "Yes, that was our house. And Renesmee smells familiar to you because she was living with the werewolves, who you undoubtedly know about already. Her mate is Jacob, a werewolf," he explained hastily. I blushed slightly. "They've been taking care of our house…sort of living in it, I guess." I remembered with pleasure the wonderful nights that Jacob and I had spent in there, or in the cottage, and Dad cringed, glaring at me.

We glanced toward the lunch lady, gleefully kicking this lunch period out the doors as the next came in. "Then we'll see you after school, in the parking lot, then," Emmett said, the gleam in his eyes back.


	8. Emmett Did It

Return to Forks Part 8: Emmett Did It!

BPOV (again! Yay!)

The rest of the day passed in a blur.

I don't know why, but I'd been anticipating the lunchtime conversation for so long so and each period seemed to pass so slowly before that, but afterwards, everything flew by.

I was with Edward again, thankfully, until seventh period, when I had a class with my daughter. At the end of the day, for our last period, I had the class with Edward, Emmett, and Alice. I made up my mind to teach Emmett a lesson in that period. When a girl came up to Edward – _my_ Edward – and was talking to him in a flirty voice (thus making me seethe with anger), Emmett came up to her and said, in a callous voice, "You better leave him alone. He's with her." He pointed to me. "They're together, like you know, _together_ together." Emmett waggled his eyebrows up and down, and I winced. Why, why, why did it have to be us? The girl looked like she was going to puke and fled.

As we strode out to the parking lot presently, I glared at Emmett, and Edward's arm was wrapped around my shoulders. He seemed more and more pained, and I pitied him. Finally, he gave Emmett a hard kick in the shin. "Would you stop already?!"

When we arrived at Edward's Volvo, I planted myself in front of Emmett.

"I swear, Emmett McCarty Cullen," I said, seething,"the next time you say anything about Edward or me, in that sense, or our relationship, in front of unaware humans, I will kill you myself. Tear you to bits and burn the pieces!" I was certainly not messing around with him. He smirked down at me.

"I'd like to see you try, little sister!" I didn't miss how his arms flexed.

I shrugged nonchalantly, and Emmett relaxed. After a moment, I asked, "Hey, Emmett, do you want to play 'Mercy'?"

"Up for anything." His eyes gleamed as he rolled up his sleeves.

I raised my hand, with a grin on my face. Emmett looked at me in confusion, and then clasped my hand.

Immediately, I pulled the arm back and twisted it to the side and down. Emmett screamed. We laughed, and the humans nearby stared at us in bewilderment.

"I take that back, Bella!" he yelled. "You can beat me any day! Ow…oh…my…dang…BELLA! LET GO!"

I was having too much fun. "You have to say 'Mercy'! That's the point of the game!"

"MERCY!"

Reluctantly, I released him. Emmett pulled his arm back and rubbed it. "I swear, Bella, I shall never underestimate you again."

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I saw two humans playing that game in the hallway, before we walked in._"_

The rest of us Cullens were in hysterics by this point, of course. Edward grabbed me and pulled me to him. "Who would have thought that the great Emmett would be brought down by Bella, the shy, blushing girl that he used to tease everyday?" That only made us laugh harder.

"Gee, Em," Jasper managed out. "I didn't know you took French."

"French?" Emmett asked, still mad. "What does that have to do with this?"

"Merci, merci!"

"Ugh! You're so irritating!"

Jasper, seeing that we were about to split our sides, sent calm waves toward us. "You just had to ruin our fun," Alice grumbled, smacking Jazz on the…butt.

I was slightly shocked at that, but no one else thought anything about it, so I let it go.

Rosalie was still chuckling, and then wrapped her arms around Emmett. He relaxed slightly, and hugged her back.

Edward's perfect voice was at my ear. "I'm so proud of you, love," he whispered, making my whole body tingle.

I reached up to him. He laughed, knowing what I was after, and kissed me slowly and sweetly. Out of my periphery, I saw a group of snobby, stuck-up cheerleader types walk past us. The girls looked daggers at me and then huffed off, noses in the air. I growled, recognizing the group's leader as the girl who'd gone up to my Edward, but Edward restrained me from ripping that girl's throat out.

"Steady, love," he reminded me, and leaned in again to touch his lips to mine. His hands, locked in my hair, slowly began to make their way down my back, across my waist, and to my butt. He gave it a gentle squeeze, and I trembled in his arms.

"Hey, you may want to postpone your make-out session for later!" Alice told us. "A cloud that's concealing the sun is going to shift in five…four…three…two…."

We were in the car.

"…One."

At that moment, the cloud moved over and a ray of sunlight struck the place where Edward and I were just kissing.

We went home quietly. Edward leaned in for a kiss every now and then.

"Alice!" Edward snarled. "What are you hiding from me by singing 'Deck the Halls' in Cantonese? And then Korean? And then Czechoslovakian? And then German? And then – "

"No way am I telling! Don't worry, you won't be in…intense pain." She smirked, twisting to the back where Edward and I were. "Much less pain than Emmett." He growled, and Rosalie giggled.

In an effort to placate him, I grabbed his face and kissed him again. His eyes opened and I sat, hypnotized, staring into the pools of lovely gold, until he closed his eyes and kissed me again.

As we pulled into the huge driveway of our old home, Edward tore away from me. "I'll put our backpacks away," he offered, swinging them both over his shoulders.

"Thanks," I murmured, pecking him on the cheek.

"Bella, do that again!" Jasper asked me. "I want to see Emmett's face – apparently I arrived a bit late for the last show."

"Okay, that's _it_!" Before we knew it, Emmett had a handful of pebbles in his hands, throwing them at Jasper, who dodged each one. Just when he ran past the door of our house, Edward stepped out, and one of the pebbles flying at faster than two hundred fifty miles per hour flew right into his private area. Edward keeled over, and I was at his side in an instant.

"Edward! Are you all right?" I asked, shaking him.

"Yes, love," he muttered. "Just because I'm a vampire doesn't mean I can't feel pain. Especially if Emmett's the one inflicting it."

I turned accusing eyes on the rest of them. They all took one look at my expression and pointed to Emmett. "He did it!" Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper chimed at the same time. Renesmee was just having a laughing fit, doubled over.

"Come on." I pulled Edward inside and pushed him down on a couch. I knelt next to him. "Are you okay?" I asked again, rubbing there. It was…sort of awkward.

"Ugh. It's painful," he admitted. I knew that he hated to show his weakness to me.

For fear that the others would hear me, I removed my shield. _I can fix that tonight_.

"Ah, Bella," he whispered, kissing me again. "I'm going to take you up on that."

Then his eyes took on a distant quality. "Jacob's going to appear in sixteen seconds, and the others will be here within two minutes," he confirmed.

I pulled him and we went back outside, where neither of us were pelted by rocks, thankfully.

"Jacob!" Nessie cried when he ran out from the trees.

Jacob crushed my daughter in a tight hug. "Yeah, I missed you too. So, the other vampires are coming here in a few minutes, right?" he asked the rest of us when he set Nessie down.

"Yes," Edward confirmed. "In fact…."

We held our breaths.

"Here they are."

I looked where Edward's eyes were trained. From the forest, three figures appeared. Timothy holding Isabelle's hand, and Tatiana trailing behind. Nessie waved to Tatiana, who perked up and waved back. I could see definite friendship forming between the two.

"Welcome to our residence," Edward said, gesturing toward the house.

"It's lovely," Isabelle murmured, and her thoughts must have been genuine.

I noticed Edward looking at Tatiana with something akin to pity. I moved my shield off. _Why?_

He squeezed my hand in response.

_Is it because everyone around her has a mate, but she doesn't?_

Looking down at me, he nodded briefly.

_I hope she finds someone soon._

"So do I," he whispered softly.

"Let's go inside," Alice said. She pulled Jasper with her into the house, and the rest of us followed. We settled down comfortably in the living room.

For the next few hours, we were always chatting. Nessie, Jacob, and Tatiana bonded quickly enough. After running out of vampire topics to talk about, we babbled on about non-vampire (or werewolf) related subjects. At night, when Carlisle and Esme returned (Esme had spent the day at the hospital, too), they joined the conversation, and William and Alena arrived shortly afterwards. The parents were great right off the bat, and the rest of us were slightly bored, so we played truth or dare.

"The only rule is, nothing inappropriate." Edward laid down the law.

"Which means?" Timothy asked.

"We'll judge as a whole if and when the time comes."

Tatiana went first. "Nessie, truth or dare."

"Truth."

Tatiana laughed. "How many times have you and Jacob done it?"

Nessie shot Tatiana a dirty look. "Six thousand, nine hundred and seventy-four."

Edward and I winced.

"Alice! Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

We all grinned in anticipation. "Alice, I dare you to go into the forest, cut down a tree with a trunk at least three feet thick, and lay it in front of the library."

Alice dashed out the door and was back in half a minute. "Done."

"Did she do it?" I asked Edward, who nodded.

"Edward, truth or dare."

He stiffened. "Truth," he decided.

"What was the worst thing that a girl other than Bella has done to you…you know, in that way?" We all laughed and waited for Edward expectantly…except me.

"Well, when we were in Denali, I'd gone for a walk in the woods. Tanya jumped on me and started kissing me and then she ripped my shirt off and she was reaching where she, um, shouldn't have, and then I pushed her away and cussed at her." He finished and everyone was laughing, but I was horrorstruck.

Edward leaned down to kiss me. "It's okay, love. You still have my first kiss; I don't really consider that a kiss. More like a sexual assault." I calmed down slightly.

"Emmett, truth or dare."

"Dare."

"I dare you to go spray-paint one of the wheels on Jasper's motorcycle bright orange."

We howled at that, and none of us deemed it inappropriate.

Jasper was tensed. "Did he do it?" he asked Edward.

Edward nodded.

"EMMETT!" Jasper was out the door, and we could hear him wrestling with Emmett in the garage.

The two finally came back. "Emmett owes me a new wheel."

**AN: Review please! And thanks for those who have already reviewed! Here's a question: should I sort of describe Edward and Bella's nightly activities or should I leave their 'activities' a dark void like I usually do? Please review and tell me!**


	9. Tatiana's Sorrow

Return to Forks Part 9 – Tatiana's Sorrow

EPOV

**AN: It is decided: dark void it is.**

The rest of Truth or Dare continued relatively well. Bella chose Truth, and she had to tell everyone how many times _we_ had done 'it'. She and I tried to protest, saying that you couldn't do the same one again, but the others disagreed, saying that we'd never laid down such a rule. Her answer? Eleven thousand, three hundred and sixteen. Emmett howled his head off and I reached over to slap him. However, it was no joke. During the intervals when we took a few years to just relax and not go to school, college, or wherever, Bella and I would do it many times a day.

Bella then picked Rosalie, who also chose Truth. She asked Rosalie the same question and her answer threw us into hysterics: fourteen thousand, seven hundred and two. Emmett scowled.

Rosalie picked Jasper – dare – and dared him to completely and utterly disassemble his motorcycle. Jasper did so, with a pained face.

_No…my poor bike, I'm so sorry, I have to do this, otherwise I'll never live the next couple years. _I snorted and Jasper glared at me. _Whatever, Edward, I can just feel the waves of smugness rolling off you._

We all went out to look at it, and laughed. Jasper crossed his arms, and right before our eyes, reassembled his bike.

Jasper then asked Timothy, who said Dare. _Uh, oh, uh-oh, not the best idea…._

"I dare you to go and disassemble the car of the football player who I nearly threw into a glass case of sports trophies – what's the name, Edward?"

I thought back to that one…oh, the kid who whistled at Alice. "Josh Greendale."

Timothy nodded. "Okay, gotcha." _What did the kid do to make him freaking mad like that? Oh man, he has a Mercedes…I'm going to actually feel bad to do this…let's see…take apart the engine, mix up the pieces, scatter screws around it, take the glass out of the cars, okay, this'll take him a while to fix up._

I grinned. "Excellent revenge, my brother," I congratulated Jasper. We high-fived.

Timothy was back. "That was a Mercedes – it almost made me feel _guilty_," he joked.

Just then, William, Alena, Carlisle and Esme came to where we were. "What have you kids been _doing_?" Esme asked in a shocked voice.

Emmett grinned up at her, sheepishly. "Truth or dare."

"And what was that about a Mercedes?" Carlisle asked. "If any of you laid a finger on my – " _Seriously, I should just not go to work and keep an eye on these yahoos. Who knows what they do at school…._

"No, no," Jasper explained. "This one kid who hit on Alice – " he wrapped an arm protectively around her " – has a Mercedes. I dared Timothy to disassemble the car."

"Oh." _No wonder Jasper's so mad._

William was a man who was in his early twenties, like Carlisle. He had dark brown hair, and he was pretty tall, just a bit taller than I. He seemed like a relaxed, easygoing man. His wife, Alena, was also in her early twenties. Her character was like Esme's: motherly, kind, and caring.

"I grant you full permission to inflict harm on the property of idiotic humans as long as you don't get caught," William agreed, laughing. _Man, those kids better watch out…._

"And as long as the item will not inflict personal pain onto anyone," Carlisle added.

Emmett's thoughts scared me. _Seriously?_

"No, Emmett," I muttered. He glared at me.

"Well, it's about time we went home," Alena said. "We'll see you all tomorrow, then?"

"Yes," Esme agreed. "Have a nice night, and see you soon!"

Isabelle, Timothy, and Tatiana left. Tatiana was in the middle of talking to Nessie, and the two now embraced. I smiled – it seemed like the two were easily friends. Jacob was friendly, too.

However, Tatiana's thoughts were sad. _I wish that I could be like them, too. It's so hard sometimes, being the odd one out._ My heart swelled up with pity for her. It must've been so difficult to go the whole day being the only one not paired up with a soul mate. That was what she needed – a soul mate. I hoped that she would find one soon.

I grabbed Bella's hand. "Okay, goodnight, everyone – we're just going to go to bed…early," I joked, already pulling her out the door.

Esme shook her head while Emmett started laughing. "Have a nice night!"

As we ran to our cottage, Bella took my hand and kissed it. "I love you, Edward."

I chuckled. "I know," I reassured her. When we arrived, I carried her in, bridal style. She giggled all the way – music to my ears.

Her face became more serious as I put her down on the bed. "Edward, have you heard what Tatiana was thinking? I don't know, but I think that it's not too easy for her…you know…."

My reply was soft. "Yes, it's difficult. She needs someone."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," she whispered.

I pulled her mouth to mine. She moaned softly as I started to take her clothes off.

* * *

"Bella, if I asked you to do something, would you do it?" I asked.

"Probably," she replied.

I bit my lip hesitantly. I had no idea how this would work. "Okay, this will sound really, really idiotic, but I want you to bite me."

Her intake of breath was all I needed to backtrack. "I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine. But it's just that…you have part of me in you, but I don't have you on me."

"But…you said it hurts. The pain…would it be too much?"

I thought back to when we had battled with the blood-crazed newborns, nearly eight decades ago. Jasper had been bitten. It didn't seem like too much pain, the way his thoughts went. If I could bear the three-day transformation, surely I could bear this.

"If it's you, my love, I can stand anything," I murmured.

She shook her head. "You're becoming extremely masochistic."

"Wasn't I always?" I asked.

Her hands ran up and down my neck, and I moaned. "Are you…are you sure?"

"Positive," I answered. "Yes, I want you to bite me, please, please…."

When I opened my eyes, I stared into warm gold. Her eyes were still deep, depthless, and clear, just a different color. There was indecision in them.

"Okay," she finally agreed.

I closed my eyes and braced myself for the pain. I could feel her hands stroking my neck tenderly. Her lips dipped down to it, and she kissed my neck softly. And then I felt her lips pull back, and her teeth sank gently into my skin.

Gasping, I pushed her away – a terrible mistake. She immediately started to sob tearlessly. "Oh, Edward, I am so, so, sorry! I hurt you, didn't I?" She was nearly hysterical.

"No, love, the pain is endurable," I managed. "Wait for a moment, please."

Her lips were back at my neck, kissing the wound. "I'm sorry, Edward, I love you," she said between kisses.

"I know," I murmured. "I love you too."

The pain wasn't too bad, but yes, painful. As her teeth sank in, it was like one fierce jolt of painful fire coursing through me, and then the pain ebbed. As the fire finally disappeared into one tiny point, I sat up and opened my eyes.

"Edward, I'm so sorry – "

I quieted her with a kiss. "Don't be. Now I have a mark of you on me…forever."

"It wasn't worth it," she whispered sadly. "Not worth giving you so much pain."

That was it – I held her face between my hands. "Look at me, Bella!" I commanded. "You _are_ worth it. Why else do you think I would want you to bite me?"

"I don't know – you were delusional?"

I sighed. "Please, Bella. You are worth it. Now let's get dressed."

It was our habit to dress each other in the morning. I slipped her bra and underwear on, and then I dressed her in a dark blue shirt and soft, white sweatpants. Alice would have a fit, but I didn't really care.

She put my boxers on, and then chose a tan polo and jeans for me to wear. She knew me – I would be in pain if I had to wear anything fancy. I kissed her gently.

"Let's go, we don't want to be late," I joked.

When we were back at the main house, Alice took one look at me and gasped. _Edward, were you crazy? You asked her to bite you?_

I sighed. "Alice, it's not your business."

The thoughts of everyone were like that. _Why did she bite you? Why did you let her? Did you want to?_ It was beyond irritating. I hugged Bella close to me, and she kissed my neck.

On the way to school, Emmett and Jasper were arguing about which kid would be their next victim. They were taking this car-disassembling grant to extremes. I just had my arms around Bella and kissed her, over and over. She ran her hand across the mark on my neck again and again.

When we saw the others again, they didn't voice anything about the mark on my neck, though their thoughts were crazy. _Who…what…where…when…why…how…. _It was really getting on my nerves.

The same disturbing football jock from yesterday was materializing even _worse_ thoughts!

_Okay, bro, whose car do you want me to destroy?_ Emmett's thoughts were smug.

"That kid," I whispered in vampire volume. "But he's underage, he can't have a car."

"I'll spray paint his football jersey when I get the chance." _Next on the hit list: Williamson _(the guy who was thinking about asking Rosalie out – and he was going to, today, according to Alice).

_Barnetski is mine._ Jasper was thinking about destroying the latter's track and swimming trophies.

It was really funny, actually, to witness Jasper and Emmett's jealousy. As I walked to Bella's locker, my arm around her form, thoughts from the girls watching floated up.

That girl – Sophie, from yesterday – was practically swooning. Bella glared at her, and then looked at me. "Can I burn her makeup stash?" she asked me.

"Be my guest," I assured her.

We were at the lockers now. My locker was, thankfully, right by Bella's. As soon as we had our books for our first period class, I pushed her against her locker and locked my lips fiercely to hers. I could feel the disgust coming from the girls behind me, but I couldn't care less. I pressed her up against the locker, and I grabbed her books, too, while I was at it.

Her eyes were so full of a combination of lust and love. I chuckled and then put my arm around her again. I slipped my hand into the back pocket of her jeans.

_Ugh! What does he, like, see in her?_ Sophie was irritating me. Whipping around, I glared at her, not remembering to rein in my abilities. She didn't notice my hate – her thoughts were a tangle of _OMG!'_s and _like_'s. _OMG. OMG OMG he like actually looked at me! He is, like, so, like hot!_ My lips curled in disgust and focused my attention on the perfect girl who I was holding. She smiled up at me and I kissed her again.

**AN: Ooh, Edward's not too happy is he? How was this chapter? REVIEW!!! Thanks!**


	10. Human

Return to Forks Part 10 – Human

**AN: This is the beginning of the **_**real**_** drama…mwah ha ha….**

APOV

Bella sat next to me, with Edward on her other side, but unlike yesterday, she didn't have any food with her.

"Carlisle said that even though I like food, I still have to throw it up eventually," she grumbled. "And it was disgusting when it comes back up. So I'm just giving up on the whole institution."

I laughed. "Took you long enough to figure out that food doesn't do you any good, huh?"

Bella just scowled, and Edward wrapped an arm around her, while trying not to laugh himself. "So that's why you left halfway through second period?"

She nodded, and Edward kissed her softly on the forehead.

Leaning back, I snuggled into Jasper's chest. Rosalie, like always, was being so shallow and superficial. She was examining the French manicure she'd given herself this morning. Emmett just looked bored.

"No, Emmett, that's going _too_ far," Edward muttered.

I suddenly saw a flash of Emmett dumping a guy who hit on Rosalie into one of the basketball hoops on the court outside. Jasper leaned down so that his lips were at my ear and his breath tickled my neck. "What?"

"Emmett's going to dump a guy who was going to ask Rose out into one of the basketball hoops outside," I told him, pointing outside.

"Say what?" Timothy's voice came from behind us. "Can we help? I've a few hit list victims that I need to deal with, too."

Isabelle smacked him playfully on the butt, making me cringe. "No way."

I bet that Rosalie kicked Emmett in the shin because Emmett doubled over, wincing. "Take it easy! It was just an errant thought."

"Whatever," Edward grumbled.

Tatiana took her seat next to Renesmee, who greeted her enthusiastically. I smiled – the two were really getting along. Suddenly, Edward had a look of concern on his face as he looked at Tatiana – or maybe it was Nessie – I couldn't tell who it was and why.

And then I blanked out as I had another vision, but this one was much, much, _much_ more serious. I saw Tatiana, walking hand in hand with another vampire – but this one was unknown, and Tatiana had an –

Oh my God. She had a ring on her finger!

As I snapped out of it, Edward looked at me. It was quick enough that no one else knew, but as his gaze alternated between Tatiana and I, I could see that his mind put the pieces together pretty quickly. Jasper noticed, too. His eyes were questioning, but I put a finger on his lips, shushing him. The others were still chatting, oblivious to our exchange.

"So I'm thinking, maybe I should quit Gym," Emmett was saying.

"Why?" Isabelle asked.

"Well, we were playing _dodgeball_!" Emmett huffed. "And I threw a ball too hard!"

Edward looked pained. "Yeah…maybe too hard."

"And it hit Josh Greendale!" Emmett continued.

"Wait," Timothy cut in. "The kid whose Mercedes I disassembled yesterday?"

"Yeah, he looked like he was having a pretty bad day. And it hit him so hard that he started crying!"

"Em, quit gloating. That was _way too dangerous_," Rosalie muttered. "I mean, seriously, it's a _good_ thing that no one was paying attention to you at that moment, otherwise we would have to think of a very good excuse."

"Whatever."

"And I'm thinking that it's time for a shopping trip!" I chirped.

"No, please, Alice!" Bella and Renesmee exclaimed at the same time. The guys just groaned, but Isabelle and Tatiana perked up.

"No, guys, seriously, you've never seen her shop," Bella assured them.

"I like shopping!" Tatiana exclaimed.

"Should we go to Port Angeles, Seattle, Olympia, Tacoma, or somewhere farther?" I asked.

"I am not going, Alice, and neither is Renesmee." Bella put her foot down, literally.

I laughed. "Say 'bye' to_ Wuthering Heights_ and _Romeo and Juliet_!" I sang.

"What? NO! I'm coming! Seriously! _Don't lay a finger on my books!_"

"And you boys can stay home," I added. They let out sighs of relief and started being mock-sympathetic to the girls.

The bell rang just then, and I skipped out to Social Studies, though I was a little down because Jasper was in the next room, in Pre-Cal. However, we agreed to pick a seat in the far corner away from the wall, in the very back, so we could whisper softer than any human can hear but still understand each other perfectly.

I wasn't expecting Tatiana to come join me. She sat down hesitantly in the seat next to me. "Hi." Apparently, she was also in my sophomore classes, for the afternoon.

Grinning back, I said, "Hey, Tatiana, I'm so glad that you like shopping. Bella and Renesmee are party poopers." I fake-pouted. She laughed, and then I came straight to the point.

"Tatiana, why do I see you being engaged to a newborn vampire in the near future?"

Her face was pure shock and disbelief. "Oh, dear God, I never knew – " she cut off, and then started again. "How can that happen?"

"Who is it?" I asked gently, not wanting to pry too much.

"It's…." Her voice broke, and she continued again. "His name is Ethan."

"Ethan?" My voice was just as confused as I felt.

"Ethan…Adinton," she confessed with a dry sob. Our whole exchange was so quiet that we didn't even turn heads. Jasper, coming in, remained silent for a moment, respecting our need for some, um, 'girl time'.

"I've never heard of him before," I mused.

"He has caramel hair, and he's about the same height as Emmett," she said quietly. "His skin is sort of tan, but just slightly. He's the one person that people pick on a lot, even though I don't see _why_! His parents are abusive to him, but he hasn't said anything."

I patted her on the back. "I'm sorry. Have you talked to him before?"

"Once," she admitted. "Just once. Today. I don't know why, but it's more than just a crush, I swear! It's like…his life is my own. His pain is my pain, his joy is mine."

She smiled briefly, but it didn't reach her eyes. "That sounds really, really cheesy."

"No, it's okay," I murmured, thinking back. "History repeats itself."

Her head snapped up and her eyes stared into mine. "What?" she demanded. "History repeats itself? How, in this case?"

"When Edward was in high school, here, nearly eighty years ago," I began, and then I heard her gasp. "Yeah, we went to high school hear once. So anyways, Bella – yes, that Bella – came here from Phoenix, Arizona, and Edward was extremely attracted to Bella's scent – her blood.

"He went away for a few days to the Denali clan in Alaska, but he chose to come back. He found an extreme attraction to Bella that lay underneath the thirst for her blood. That is one of the reasons he kept from hurting her. Eventually, well, he saved her from a bunch of guys who were going to rape her, in Port Angeles, and that sort of kick-started their relationship."

"Wow," she murmured. "But I don't see any way Ethan and I can be together."

I nudged her. "Don't think that! I saw you and Ethan engaged, remember?"

"Yes, but you also saw that when he was a _vampire_," she argued, spitting out the word like a profanity. "That will never happen – I _won't_ allow it."

I stared in awe. "History _does_ repeat itself."

"So what do I do?" she nearly begged.

"Well…I think you should take the action that Edward did, at first, with Bella. Start with some friendly small talk or something, just to show him that you're friendly."

"And…supposing I did?"

She must have meant it, because I found another vision. "And he'll ask you out."

"What? To a restaurant? I'm not Bella – _I don't eat food!_" I giggled at the memory of lunch yesterday.

"Well, not ask you out, in the common understanding. You're going to go for a walk in a park. And that will be the perfect time to tell him everything."

Her voice was strangled. "I can't. The Volturi – "

"He's going to be one of us anyways. It won't do any harm, I promise."

"Okay…and how are Isabelle and Timothy going to react?"

My eyes darkened. "Not too well," I sighed. They were going to be furious.

Tatiana dropped her head into her hands. "Oh, dear Lord."

I tried to comfort her – it made me sad, to see her in such a dilemma. "It happened to Edward, too, you know," I told her. "It was one of the worst family fights we've had up to that point. Half of us wanted Edward to open himself up to Bella, become friendly with her – and perhaps more, and the other half wanted him to just hurry up and kill her already."

"I don't – I don't see – do you see another outcome?" she asked me suddenly.

I racked my brain for another vision. Suddenly, it hit me. I had no idea where we were, or what had happened, but Ethan was sprawled on the ground, and the rest of us were crowded around him, and the blood in his body was being drained away into the ground. His heartbeats were numbered, and his time was slowly ticking away….

"Either that, or Ethan will die."

Tatiana froze. "What?" she finally whispered. "He's going to die? Oh God, no!"

"I'm sorry, Tatiana, I only see those two. But I think you should concentrate on first befriending Ethan, and then taking steps from there. I understand that you have Pre-Cal after this, with Ethan? And you also have General Music with him in the morning?" I saw their conversations, and they seemed quite at ease. Chatting like old friends.

"Yes. What do you see?"

I smiled, glad to have good news for her. "You're conversations with him seem to be going in the right direction. And although you _do_ want to go step by step in your relationship, don't put your feelings on hold forever. Don't jump right into some, uh, romantic activity, either, okay?"

"Sure," she answered, with a shuddering breath. "When do you see him asking me out?"

I looked back in my head yet again. I smiled in satisfaction. "Two days from now – Thursday," I replied, with a grin. "And your 'date', the walk in the park, will be on Saturday. Plenty of time to figure out what to say."

The teacher strode in, and then we faced front. In a soft vampire-ears-only whisper, I asked Jasper, "Did you hear all that?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Edward probably knows already. He won't be too happy."

"I know – but you didn't have another decision. I'm proud of you, love."

I wished that I could just go over and kiss him. It was so hard to sit through a class and not be able to reach over and trace the long scars on his face that only made his features better.

"Everything will work out, Alice, love," he assured me. "I know it."


	11. Ethan and Other Revelations

Return to Forks Part 11 – Ethan and Other Revelations

**AN: Should Ethan be a vampire? Vote on my profile please! I've been getting different opinions….**

JPOV

I walked out of class and immediately found Alice. My little pixie wrapped her arms around me as she gave me a quick peck on the lips.

"So what now?" I asked her. "What do you see? Is this Ethan boy going to be a – one of us?"

"I don't know," Alice answered, her eyes picking up that distant quality again. "I see…two outcomes. One…he will be changed. Two…he will die. Soon. Early."

The verdict was laid down by my infallible wife. "If you say so, then it must be," I replied simply. "I wonder how she's going to take it."

"Look!" Alice hissed, her gaze locked on a student. "I wonder if that's the boy, Ethan."

He was quite good-looking, in all fairness. His hair was a slightly messy bunch of caramel-colored waves, and he was tall enough. However, he didn't look like your classic extrovert.

"Hmm…I can see now, he is the one," Alice whispered.

The warning bell sounded, and we continued on our way. "We'd better get to class," she whispered in my ear seductively – so seductively that I had to lean down to kiss her gently. "Let's go."

We were back at our lockers and we'd pulled out the books we needed. No doubt my Alice had some intensive searching to do in this next period. That was just fine. I would just hold her in my arms as she found her answers.

Her eyes were distant all the time, even when the teacher called on her. Which wasn't often, given our constant four point oh or higher records.

When the bell rang, my love snapped back to the present. "Oh, God," she whispered as she clutched my hand tightly, earning me dirty looks from the jealous idiot males in the room.

"What?" I whispered as I held her tightly to me. Her cold-but-warm-to-me skin pressed anxiously against mine. "What did you see?"

"If that boy doesn't turn into one of us – he – he'll – he'll die a very, very early death," she murmured. She looked like she would've had tears if a such thing were possible.

"Oh," I murmured. "What _can_ she do?"

"Nothing," came Alice's verdict.

I had the fortune of spending the next class away from Alice, but with Tatiana.

"What did Alice say about…that?" she whispered, eyes anxious.

I hated being the bearer of bad news. "Do you want to know the full truth?"

She looked at me with frightened eyes that screamed _yes_.

"She says…that if he doesn't…change…soon, he'll die a very premature death."

The words hung in the air like stones. And then, Tatiana buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, dear God, why me?" she murmured, almost to herself. "What _can_ I do?"

"I don't know," I answered, honestly. "Alice says nothing."

"I don't want him to die!" she hissed. "But I can't take away his soul!"

What was this, Edward Jr. trapped in a girl's body? "That's what Edward said when he first met Bella," I said quietly, trying to reassure her.

"I'm not him! I can't do this!"

I leaned over to pat her on the shoulder, trying to comfort her, albeit awkwardly. "Don't worry, this will work itself out," I told her.

She tilted her head up and took a deep breath. "Okay, don't overreact…."

A boy, who'd been eyeing her, now looked her up and down like the pervert that his conversations I'd been fortunate enough to hear suggested. I glared at him fiercely, and he cowered back.

"Shh, don't get worked up," I told her. "Just…try not to think of that. Concentrate on…the present. The future is not in our hands. She could find another one for him, perhaps."

Tatiana did not look convinced, but did as I suggested. Thank goodness. The wretched feelings radiating from her made me want to just rip my hair out.

…

At the end of the class, I saw the caramel-haired boy approach Tatiana rather timidly. "Hi," he murmured in a low, shy voice.

"Hello," Tatiana beamed at him. Positive joy and radiance came from her now. I marveled at that effect he had on her.

While they chatted away about nothing in general, Alice came up to me and whispered gently in my ear. "They're certainly happy," she said, placing her small hands on my neck.

"For now."

"What did you see?" I asked, half-dreading the answer.

Her lips were tight. "Isabelle and Timothy will see them at the end of the day. Isabelle won't be happy."

I sighed. "What a mess for them. I could always calm her down, I guess."

Alice sighed, too. "I really don't know," she murmured. "I think Isabelle's…special trait is the fact that her emotions are so effective, so _strong_. I don't know how much you'll influence her."

When we walked into the next classroom, Edward shot me us worried look. I assumed that he already knew everything. He gave me a short nod.

Bella looked like she knew it, too. While we sat through the class, I hugged Alice tightly, since the desks in this room were the long, two-people type, and I chose Alice to be my partner, obviously.

The dejection hanging over us immortals were making me go crazy. And the lust coming from the humans was sickening. Perfect solution: to get rid of the dejection, smash every human in this room. Edward glared at me.

Fine! Be that way! See what happens today, after school! I instantly regretted that, because Isabelle's reaction, by Alice's description, didn't really seem to be a joke.

"It's not," Edward whispered, his voice low.

The rest of the time flew by, and my insides were jelly by the time the final bell rang. We made our way to our lockers and went home with a _very_ light homework load, seeing that we'd completed our assignments during class or study hall.

"Tatiana and Ethan appear over there in seven," Alice said, pointing to one turn in the hallway. "Seconds. Isabelle and Timothy, there, in eleven."

The seconds counted down, and sure enough, Tatiana came over with Ethan, chatting away like old acquaintances. I could sense something more, for _sure. _Ethan's feelings for Tatiana were much the same as hers.

Oh, crap, Isabelle and Timothy. I felt the abrupt change in atmosphere as they spotted the shy, quiet element of their coven with a human.

If possible, Isabelle's face would've changed color to puce. Timothy put his hand on her shoulder, but it had no calming effect. I tried to step in after that, but like Alice had predicted, it wasn't very effective.

"Hello," Isabelle said coolly, her voice surprisingly controlled. "Who's your…friend, Tatiana?"

Tatiana gulped slightly. "This is Ethan. Ethan, my adopted siblings, Isabelle, Timothy."

"Nice to meet you," Ethan murmured, and I picked up no hint of aversion or fright from him.

"Well…I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Tatiana said somewhat awkwardly.

"Yeah. See you."

Isabelle's teeth clenched. "No, you absolutely _will not,_" she hissed.

Tatiana's expression was one I'd never seen on her before – fierce and protective. "Why not? Why must I stay away?"

"Because you will expose us!" Isabelle said in exasperation.

"No, he's not," my Alice piped up. "I'm certain."

Isabelle glared at her, but Alice just looked back, holding her glare.

"You really want to condemn him to this life, Tatiana? Really?" Isabelle demanded, turning back to Tatiana. "Why would you do that?"

Tatiana was defiant. "I have no idea, but I know that I've found myself in him, and you can't stop me."

Isabelle snorted.

"By that," Tatiana continued, her voice solid, clear, and icy, "I mean _nothing_, absolutely _nothing_ you do will keep me from him."

Edward spoke. "She means it. It's true, and there's no avoiding the situation now."

"No one knows anything about this Ethan person! I believe that he just moved here today." Isabelle's hard gaze was not one to mess with.

I spent the rest of my sapped-out strength to calm her. It worked, slightly. She turned, her toned-down red hair twirling. "We'll continue this conversation. Away from school."

"Yeah, well, believe me when I say this: nothing is going to work now. And – he asked me out and I said yes."

Isabelle, slightly calmer, flared up again. "You _what?!_"

"Okay, time for us to go," Bella murmured, pulling us all away. Renesmee shot one last glance at her new friend, interrogated by an Isabelle on the warpath, reluctant at having to leave.

"Nessie. Now," Alice said, pulling her.

"Meet at our place," Edward ordered to them before the rest of us left.

"Poor Tatiana," Renesmee murmured. "Poor Ethan. Poor everyone."

She was absolutely right.

**AN: So sorry that I haven't updated! And what's worse, school starts! No! So depressing. When school starts, I'm going to be banned from Fanfiction (a result of being in a education-centered household – 'Why are you going on that? Why are you not studying the SAT Essay books?' I mean seriously, how much can a sevvie handle?) because of school, obviously, and perhaps art classes and swim classes and tennis and Chinese school and additional math courses…so sorry! An update per week may be my best. I am so sorry!**

**Review?**

**Please?**

**I'll be your BFF forever!**

**Just kidding. But please review!**


	12. Fury

Return to Forks Part 12 – Fury

**AN: Okay. Yell at me. Scream at me. I'M SORRY! I didn't update for…a long time.**

**Anyways, enjoy.**

RPOV

While I picked the unavoidable specks of dust off my sleeves, I seethed at Tatiana.

How could she risk this again? Edward and Bella were bad enough, and to no one's surprise, Bella had gotten her wish – immortality.

Wasn't one person enough? If I didn't know better, I would think that Tatiana was _wishing_ this on her beloved human.

Emmett glanced down at me, concerned, his arm still wrapped gently around my waist. "What's wrong, honey?"

_"Them!"_ I hissed.

Edward glared at me. "That's completely irrelevant. Tatiana will do whatever Ethan wants her to."

Yeah, right. Just because Bella had wanted Edward to bite her doesn't mean that Ethan will. And it doesn't mean that Tatiana was another Edward, always doing what was best.

"She will!" Edward hissed, and threw his arms up in frustration.

That's what you get, mind reader. Now _stay out_ of my mind!

"I only wish," Edward grumbled.

We were at the car now, and the parking lot was emptying out. I hopped right in.

Keep out of my mind, or you'll be sorry.

"Ugh!"

"Hey, hey," Bella and Jasper said at the same time, and laughed.

"No fighting," Emmett finished.

If only a such thing were possible.

"I know you're fighting over Tatiana," Nessie said. "And she'll make the right choice."

As soon as we hit the main highway, Edward, who was at the wheel, slammed down on the gas pedal and sped out of the area like the speed demon he was.

Bella leaned over to kiss Edward and he gradually relaxed. His fingers no longer kept a death grip on the steering wheel, and he leaned over to kiss her cheek.

Emmett shook me gently. "Rosalie? What's wrong? You've been quiet."

"I – never mind."

"Please, Rose, tell me." He looked at me with earnest, pleading eyes, and I had to speak.

"I don't know if this is right for them. Just because it was right for Edward and Bella doesn't mean – and, um, they're…actually dating."

Bella laughed from up front. "Hey! Edward and I went on dates."

"Yes," I conceded. "But this is just…weird. Different."

Emmett leaned over to kiss me, but I pushed him away. "Not now – I need to think."

A look of hurt flashed across his face, and I instantly felt sorry and kissed him again. "I just feel that this isn't right, but…."

I sank back into the seat, where Emmett kissed me again. "It's going to be okay, Rose," he reassured me. "I don't think anything will happen."

"Wrong," Alice piped up. Throughout this whole conversation, she and Jasper had been having an intense make-out session in the very back of the car. Nessie was stuck with sitting with them, and looked very grossed out. "During their date, she'll tell him all about who we are."

_What?!_ "Seriously? She's only known him for a few days! How can she trust him?"

"He's trustworthy," Edward murmured. "I could tell. He's a good guy."

Good guy my foot. A _human_.

"He is."

We were at the house by then, and I wasted no time in jumping out. When Nessie passed me, her skin brushed against mine, and I couldn't help but smile as she was contemplating why God had punished her – stuck in the back with Alice and Jasper. Emmett followed me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I felt a moment of guilt; I'd been too distant to Emmett in the car. So I turned and caught his lips in a deep kiss. His hands moved to my hips and lingered there as his lips pressed back against mine.

I finally tore myself away when an impatient Alice yelled, "Are you going to come in? Or you can just stay out here all night long!"

Emmett chuckled and pulled me along with him. "Come on, love, we don't want to upset Alice."

I giggled at the thought of Alice, so angry that she was red in the face (yes, impossible, but that just made the picture more humorous).

"All right, everyone," Jasper said once we had all sprawled out across the living room. "Is everyone's homework finished?"

Nessie shifted. "Italian homework."

Emmett sighed. "English."

"Math," I said.

"World history," Alice called out. "We have three minutes and fourteen seconds before they come – that should be more than enough time."

Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Nessie, and I all flew upstairs, leaving Edward and Bella alone downstairs – never a good idea, but oh well.

Emmett and I both finished out homework in exactly thirty-three seconds. As soon as I threw down my pencil – and cracking it – Emmett pushed me down on the bed. He climbed on top of me and started kissing me passionately. I was gasping when he broke away for a moment, only to shift himself. He kissed me again and again, and I was aware that my beautiful hair that I spent _four minutes_ on was messed up, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

When we finally heard the engine of their car, Emmett allowed me to get up. He smoothed my hair with one hand, and held me close to him with his other arm. I couldn't help but admire myself in the huge mirror in our room.

Emmett laughed and came up beside me. "Yes, love, you're beautiful."

"Thanks," I whispered, and his hands ran up and down my sides.

"I know what you're doing, and you two had better get down here!" Edward called.

"Please, Edward!" Bella squealed.

"Oh, sorry."

"I don't even want to think about what they're doing," Bella declared.

"Oh, you're one to talk," I teased as Emmett and I descended the stairs.

"Technically, since all we did was kiss, and neither one of us was on top of the other, and there was no bed involved – " Edward began.

"Yes, we can talk," Bella finished.

We all laughed, and Alice and Jasper came down, too. At the exact moment Alice's foot hit the ground, the doorbell rang.

"Hi, you guys!" Alice called.

"Hey, Tatiana," Nessie added, coming down, too.

"Hello," all three of them replied. Isabelle looked unhappy, Timothy looked unhappy because Isabelle was unhappy, but Tatiana looked absolutely radiant.

Edward nodded, his eyes narrowing. "But you expected that, so it came as no surprise to you."

"Yes," Timothy replied. "But still…."

We parted to let the three in. Once we closed the door, I smelled a strong, concentrated, forest-y scent that made my nostrils flare. A pounding came from the other side of the door. "Open up!"

"Jake!" Nessie squealed, and was back at the door before I could even turn around. Jacob stepped in, but staggered back when Nessie threw herself at him. He gave her a big hug and a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"It's good to see you too, love," he murmured. "That was a long day. So, what's new?"

The rest of us _bloodsuckers_ (as Jacob enjoys calling us) glanced at each other uncomfortably, not one of us wanting to be the one to tell the tale.

Nessie hugged Jake again.

"Oh," he muttered a minute later. "I see." He glanced at Tatiana, who stared back.

Edward frowned. "Yes," he agreed. "But she'll be okay."

"Are you sure? After all, when you – "

"Tatiana will be fine," Edward insisted. "Ethan's not her singer, and Tatiana has controlled herself – "

"And let's not talk about Tatiana as if she wasn't here!" Tatiana finished.

We all looked at her and burst into laughter.

We all resumed our places in the living room again, except that we were joined by four more people and Nessie was perched on Jacob's lap. I wrinkled my nose again.

"So…" Jasper began.

"Yeah...?" Emmett murmured, stroking my hair and sending shivers down my spine. I grinned at my reflection in the blank TV screen. Emmett and I looked so right together. I grabbed his free hand and kissed it.

"What do we do now?" Alice finished.

"Never ever," Timothy suggested. "Except that I don't think we should make each other drink shots like humans do. Instead – "

Emmett jumped up. "Hell yeah!" he yelled, and ran to the kitchen, where we heard him shuffle things around. "Instead of using shots – "

"No, Emmett! Please!" Edward called.

"We'll use doughnuts!"

Us 'bloodsuckers' and half-bloodsucker groaned.

"Sweet!" Jacob shouted.

**AN: So Isabelle's still not over the whole thing, and oh my gosh! They're going out! (Actually you knew that but oh well.) The next chapter won't be in anyone's POV, but it will have skipped a few days and will describe their date (aww!). It should be up within…um, two weeks. **

**Review please!**

**Thanks!**


	13. Truth

Return to Forks Part 12 – The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth

Third Person Omniscient

AN: I know you're dying to know all about the doughnut thing…so basically, since Jacob was the one who would actually enjoy the food, they decided to think of things he'd never done. Since it was Emmett's idea, they ganged up on him. Emmett ate fourteen, Rosalie nine, Edward ten, Bella eight, Jasper eleven, Alice seven, Nessie five, Jacob two.

"Hi, Tatiana," Ethan said quietly, rather nervously, as she climbed into his car. He was slightly daunted by the sudden proximity, but it wasn't out of fear; rather, out of normal human nervousness.

"Hey," she replied, no more at ease than Ethan. _Oh, shoot,_ she thought. _How do I tell him? He'll probably stare at me before freaking out and then he'll never want to see me again…._

Ethan turned the car around and drove away from the house. **(AN: Not the Cullens' house, the 'others' house.)**

"Where are we going?" Tatiana asked, when the silence became uncomfortable.

Ethan grinned to himself: he was sure that Tatiana had never been to this place. "It's in the woods," he said, amusement leaking out into his tone. "You'll love it."

"Cool," Tatiana replied, not sure if that answer was appropriate.

After about thirty seconds, she spoke again.

"I never did get to ask you," she began, her voice much lighter now. "Where did you move from?"

Those words invited conversation; Ethan's fingers relaxed from their death grips on the steering wheel. "I moved here from a small town in Illinois," he answered. "Skokie. It was in the suburban area near Chicago."

Tatiana laughed, and her laughter was infectious. "Was the town as small as this one?" she asked, still chuckling, as she gestured out the window.

Ethan laughed, too. "Not quite."

"I figured. What are your parents like?"

That was a question Ethan was hoping to avoid. He hated having to talk about his home life at any time, granted that it wasn't a very good story. However, when he glanced over at Tatiana, and her clear, topaz eyes, he found it difficult to ignore the question as he would if anyone else was asking.

"Oh, um…." He hesitated, not knowing how to word his explanation. "Well, they're parents, and…uh…."

He was still at a loss for words as they pulled into the tiny, vacant parking lot by the forest. When he cut the engine, he sprang from the driver's side to open Tatiana's door for her.

Tatiana smiled, appreciating the gesture. "Yeah? So…."

"Well," he began again, and cleared his throat nervously.

Tatiana was perplexed. What could cause him to become so nervous all of a sudden? It was a simple question, but perhaps it hit a nerve.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to," she added hastily, though she was dying of curiosity.

"No, no…it's all right." He took a deep breath as he led Tatiana away from the trail and to the opening between two trees that he'd remembered. No one ever used the trails; hiking was extremely unpopular in Forks. He remembered his great-grandmother telling him about a store called Newton's Outfitters that had closed down many years ago when no one wanted to hike anymore. He smiled, but it was tight. Would Tatiana really want to spend an hour hiking around in the forest?

"My parents…see, they're not the best in the world," he explained in a rush. "My mom…she had me when she was only seventeen. I was an accident, and my dad never let me forget that. My mom is just over thirty, and she's with other men, too. Dad is hooked on crack, and he spends more money buying his drugs and alcohol – he drinks, too – than he can earn, so I have to find work wherever I can. We're still in debt…and…and my parents aren't doing anything about it and…." He trailed off, his voice diminishing in volume, his pace decreasing.

Tatiana gasped; she had never thought that Ethan's life could be like that. What had he done to deserve such a family? He was so sweet, so kind…and his expression very nearly broke her heart when he looked up into her eyes, his face carrying a tortured expression. "That's…that's horrible," she finally whispered.

"Yes," he nodded. "It is." He pulled up his sleeve a little to show a jagged scar on the smooth skin of his forearm. "My father was drunk, and he had a knife. Not a good idea."

Tatiana traced the scar gently, her face horrified.

Ethan withdrew his arm and pulled his sleeve back down. "That's why I don't like to talk about this."

Impulsively, Tatiana reached over to take his hand. Ethan stiffened in shock as she squeezed it reassuringly, but then he relaxed, a hint of color in his face. Tatiana looked up at him in apology.

"Sorry," she stammered, letting go of his hand.

"It's…it's okay," he whispered, reaching out to hold her hand again. They locked eyes, shocked, at the surge of emotions that ran through them. Finally, Ethan broke the eye contact and concentrated on the way to his special place that he found a few days ago, having to escape a screaming match between his parents.

Tatiana was still reeling from her emotions. She'd never thought that she would feel so strongly to someone – a human, at that. She thought that she was complete in herself, but she'd been proven wrong. An urge to take his face between her hands seized her, and she bit her lip, hard, to hold back that desire.

Her ears perked up, hearing rushing water. _Silly, _she told herself. _It's just the Sol Duc River. _

Ethan opened his mouth to ask a question, but quickly revised it in his head. "Your hand is so cold. Why is that?" he asked softly.

"It's, well…." It was Tatiana's turn to scramble for an explanation.

Thankfully, Ethan picked up the pace until he broke through a curtain of ferns.

"Look," he told her, his mood brightening. "Do you like it?"

Tatiana's breath caught. Before her lay a small creek, and tall trees lined both banks of it. The sun had picked that moment to shine through, and made the water's surface shimmer.

"It's beautiful," she said quietly. "How did you find this place?"

He smiled wryly. "My dad was high two days ago, and my mother happened to be home," he explained. "They were in a fierce screaming fight, and I couldn't take it anymore, so I wandered around randomly and found this place."

"Wow," Tatiana breathed.

Ethan grinned, a beautifully human grin, and pulled Tatiana over to the base of one of the larger trees, which happened to have a clump of broad-leafed ferns covering it, so the place was dry. She sat down next to him, and they remained in comfortable silence for a moment. She breathed in Ethan's wonderful human scent, and subconsciously leaned her head against his shoulder.

"You never did answer," Ethan reminded her.

"About?"

"Your hands." He squeezed her hand again, to prove his point.

"Oh."

"They're extremely cold," he commented. "Inhumanly cold."

Tatiana was surprised – Ethan had caught on to much more than she thought. "You're right," she whispered, not sure how to phrase her explanation. She decided to be outright and blunt. "That's 'cause I'm not human."

Ethan stared at her, but his face seemed carefully composed. "What are you, then?" he asked her cautiously. His voice was calm, too, but there was a thick coating of underlying tension.

"We're…." She paused. "Vampires."

"Prove it." He still wasn't scared.

Tatiana sighed and raced up a tree in less than a second. She then proceeded to throw herself from the tree and landed, unharmed.

Ethan stared, and his shock was now evident on his face. He couldn't believe it – the girl he'd fallen for, and she wasn't even human?

She walked forward, away from him, and by the creek. As the sunlight washed over her, Ethan's mouth dropped open.

The sunlight sent hundreds of sparkles dancing across Tatiana's pale, flawless skin, and dazzled Ethan's eyes. Tatiana's hair whipped about her face, and her eyes snapped open, to bore intently into Ethan's. "Do you understand now?" she asked him, her voice tense and pained.

Ethan opened his mouth, then closed it again. Tatiana walked back into the shadows, and sat a few paces away from him.

"We're vampires," she said. "We sparkle in the sun. We don't eat, we don't sleep, and we drink blood. The sunlight doesn't hurt us, but it makes us sparkle. Us 'vegetarian' vampires who only feed on animal blood have eyes of this color." She gestured to her eyes. "We can run extremely fast, our skin is cold, we have immense strength, and we never age." She finished her speech in a dead monotone.

Ethan continued to stare at her, his eyes wide.

"Ethan?" she whispered, anxious now. She crawled over to him and shook his shoulder gently. "Ethan, are you all right?"

He stared at her for one more second and then fainted.

Tatiana wasted no time in whipping out her cell phone, and hit speed dial eight.

"Hello, Cullen residence."

"Carlisle! Please come! Ethan's fainted!"

**AN: Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Please review! (Or Jasper will manipulate your feelings and you'll do something extremely embarrassing that no one will ever forget.)**


	14. Deja Vu

**Return to Forks - Deja Vu**

**Third Person POV**

"I'm coming," Carlisle replied, already shrugging on his coat and heading out to his car.

Tatiana slid the phone shut and waited nervously. She smelled a delicious, forbidden scent and saw Ethan's blood dripping onto her arm while she held him upright. There was a cut on the back of his head.

The monster inside of her, hidden well for decades, reared up. Her head swam with the pain and torture of having to resist the crimson liquid welling up onto her arm and leaking down onto her hand.

_One little taste wouldn't hurt…._

She brought her arm up to her mouth.

The realization of her actions sank in. She dropped Ethan's limp body to the ground and ran out like a bat out of hell before she succumbed to her bloodlust.

Panting, she tried to regain control over her thirst. She knelt and wiped the blood off her arm on the grass.

She gulped in a breath of air, and held it. Turning around, she slowly stood up and made her way back to the human she loved.

***

BPOV

_In Memory of Charles Swan, 1965-2054_

_Caring Father, Devoted Police Chief, and Ever-Present Friend._

My eyes started to burn with an acid overload as my eyes ran across those simple words. Suddenly, it was as if the ground I was kneeling on gave away.

I collapsed and burst into sobs.

Even after all these years, I still felt a sense of remorse as I thought of my late father. I was immortal and forever eighteen while he aged and passed away. And at his funeral, I was still as young as ever.

Edward knelt next to me and cradled my head while I sobbed quietly and tearlessly. "It's all right, Bella, it's all right," he soothed me. "Charlie knew that we weren't human and accepted that. He lived to be eighty-nine, Bella. He lived a long life."

My sobs, which had been muted when he started speaking, ripped back out at his last sentence. "But not a long and happy life," I whispered. "He didn't have a happy life at all. Renee left him, and I caused him plenty of worry and heartache. I was a terrible daughter."

"Wrong," he said back. "He couldn't have been happier when he would see you. I knew what he was thinking in his last - well, he wasn't thinking about Renee. He was hoping that you would have a happy life, too." He paused. "With me."

I swallowed and reached for the flowers I ordered from the florist. Two dozen red, yellow, and pink roses were artfully arranged in a vase. I quickly dug a small hole in the ground to cover up half the vase, and packed the dirt around it, so that the wind wouldn't tip the vase over. I inhaled a deep, shuddering breath, and gently kissed the Charlie's headstone. "Rest in peace, Dad," I said quietly.

Edward reached for me while my body started shaking with sobs again.

To someone passing by, we must have been quite a sight. My hands were covered in dirt, and Edward was hugging me while I cried in front of Charlie's gravestone.

Just then, Edward's cell phone rang.

"Carlisle?" Edward asked.

"There's been an emergency, son. Tatiana told Ethan and he fainted. When he comes back around, can you and Bella please talk with the two? You have had the most experience in this area."

"Of course," Edward answered instantly, before snapping the phone shut quickly. He turned to me, and we started walking back to the car together.

We rode in silence for a whole minute. Finally, I spoke. "Where are we going?"

"Ethan took Tatiana somewhere near our meadow," Edward explained. "He was hiking by himself one day, and he found a small creek. It is located about three and a half miles southeast from our meadow."

"Have you ever seen the creek?" I asked him.

He glanced over at me and took my hand. "Yes, before you ever moved to Forks." He stopped, and seemed to be searching for words. "But it was only a pretty place. It didn't seem to...enchant me. It wasn't so magical as the meadow was." Raising my hand, he kissed it gently. "The creek is now their place now, just as the meadow is ours."

By now, we were already at the trees. I hopped out of the car, and Edward was at my side, holding my hand. Together we raced through the trees. I could follow Tatiana's scent pretty well, and the way to their special place seemed like the way to ours, until their scent turned right sharply.

We ran faster, and soon enough, I could smell the rich, copper-y smell of human blood. In such an isolated area, it was harder to control myself and not fall into a frenzy. We would most definitely be exposed if I attacked at school, but out here...I swallowed painfully. I would never do that to Tatiana.

It was odd...Ethan's blood appealed to me more than any other human's had been - other than those first whiffs I'd gotten when I had just been transformed - but it was nowhere near as painful as Edward described my blood to him.

"Are you all right?" Edward asked me in a low voice.

"Yeah," I whispered, though my throat felt like it was coated with steel wool. "Fantastic."

Edward stopped me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Bella, please. Are you extremely thirsty?"

"No," I lied instantly.

He shook me and repeated his question.

"All right, yes."

"Wait here," he commanded me, and disappeared into the trees.

Twenty-two seconds later, he was back with a deer. "Drink," he told me, laying the deer down in front of me and shoving my neck down. I was surprised by his pushiness, but instantly drained the blood from the deer.

When I looked up, Edward's eyes were gentle. "Better?" he asked softly.

"Much," I answered.

He sighed remorsefully. "I apologize about that, Bella. It's just that I'm extremely nervous for them...it seems just like a repeat of our life."

I leaned forward to hug him. "Don't worry, Edward. I love you. If it worked out with us, it'll work out with them."

He bent forward to lick away a stray drop of blood from the corner of my mouth, and kissed me quickly. "Good, now let's go find them."

Following the scent of the blood, we quickly spotted them. Carlisle was bent over Ethan, who was lying facedown on a small spot of dry land. Carlisle had just finished bandaging what seemed to be a cut on the back of his head.

"He's going to come around any time now," Carlisle told us once we entered the clearing.

I took a good look around. The ground we were standing on was damp, but where Tatiana and Ethan were was dry. Dim light was filtered through the leaves, and the small creek rushed past swiftly. Several large stones were positioned across the creek, making natural stepping stones.

When I heard a rustling and a muffled groan, Edward and I both whirled around.

Ethan rubbed the back of his head gently, and winced. He looked up into Tatiana's eyes, and he was quick to speak. "I'm so sorry, Tatiana!"

She laughed humorlessly. "What is there to apologize about?" she asked.

"For...bleeding," he explained awkwardly. "When you're...you know, um...vampires?" He said the last word like a question.

"No brain damage there," Carlisle joked, relieving some of the tension.

"So you remember," Tatiana murmured, looking up at Ethan, who was now sitting up by himself.

He smiled halfheartedly. "Well, when you see someone climb up a tree faster than a monkey or sparkle in the sunlight like glitter, well, it's not so hard to lose your mind."

"This is Edward," Carlisle said, pointing to the latter. "And Bella." Pointing to me.

Ethan shook his head a few times, and then recognition rose in his eyes. "Oh, I remember seeing you around school."

"Yes, that's right," Edward said quietly. "We'll be telling you about us. Every aspect of our lives."

"Carlisle, I think we've got it under control here," I added.

Carlisle glanced around and nodded shortly. "Well, I'll be going."

With that, he left.

I twisted a strand of hair around my index finger thoughtfully. "I guess I'll start with the business with the blood. So, when we smell blood, it sends us into a sort of frenzy...."

***

"Wow, talk about complex creatures," Ethan marveled, wide-eyed after Edward told him about our speed and heightened senses.

"Yes," the latter chuckled dryly. "However, if we don't rein those 'complexities' in, we'll be in big trouble with the Volturi."

"Who're they?" Ethan asked. "The...Volturi?" He tried the name out on his tongue.

"They're sort of like a 'royal family' of our kind," I said awkwardly, not sure how to phrase this. "They...they're not like kings, but...it's hard to explain."

Ethan held up one hand. "Wait, let me give this a shot. So they're sort of like...dictators who aren't in absolute control but can deal with all of you whenever they want to?"

"The guy learns fast," I commented admiringly, and Ethan blushed slightly.

Tatiana moved for the first time in the last fifteen minutes. "I think we should be heading back," she said quietly, standing up. "The others might be expecting us."

"Right. They'll put in whatever else when we get there," Edward agreed.

Tatiana was grinning impishly, and Edward cracked a smile, too.

It was frustrating to be in the dark, but at least there was someone in the dark with me. "What?" I asked the two impatiently.

Tatiana answered indirectly. "Ethan," she said. "Do you want me to take you back?"

He stared back blankly. "Huh?"

Without another word, Tatiana scooped him up and ran out of sight.

Edward and I collapsed on top of each other, trying to muffle our laughter.

"Wow...she's...straightforward," I chuckled. "She didn't even ask for his response!"

Edward tugged me upright gently and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. "We have to hurry, love, and catch up to them," he reminded me.

We flew through the forest, our hands intertwined. When we broke through the last of the trees, I saw Ethan and Tatiana standing in an awkward silence, against their car. Tatiana's head snapped up when she saw us approach and a look similar to relief washed over her.

I had to have a chat with her later on.

"Let's go. We'll take Ethan's car, and you take Edward's," Tatiana said. The two quickly hopped into the car and zoomed away.

I looked up at Edward. "Why did they act so awkwardly around each other?" I asked, puzzled.

He laughed. "Well, they were afraid we would come and catch them. But there will be plenty of fluff in that car, I can tell you that much."

I chuckled too. "So, is Ethan going...home or something? If he is, then why did he go in his car?"

Edward sighed. "He's not going home," he said somberly.

"Why not?"

He closed his eyes in concentration. "Well, his family doesn't have very ideal living conditions," he muttered, his lips pursed.

"What? Are they...um...poor?" I stumbled over my choice of words.

"As well as crazy," Edward snorted.

I was shocked. I'd never heard Edward talk so harshly about other people before, people he barely knew - in person. "Why?"

"Drugs and alcohol. Ethan's family is in debt, and his parents aren't any help."

"Oh...." I was at a loss of words.

Edward nodded, but his lips were still pressed into a thin line.

"Why are you so tense?" I asked hesitantly.

He turned toward me and lunged forward to capture my lips with his own.

"Um...Edward? Please?" I pleaded frantically. His strange, erratic behavior was starting to drive me insane.

"I think they'll have an even harder time than we did," Edward whispered. "Alice showed me…their future is blurry, but she can literally feel the pain."

"Edward – "

"Years ago, I wished that nothing like us would ever happen again," he continued. "And now, not only will it happen, but it will be worse."

I had nothing more to say to that.

**AN: So sorry, it took me like a month and a half to update, and this is just a filler (sort of)! BUT I had a piano competition (I received honorable mention, thank you, thank you...), track practices (ow...stiff, stiff, stiff, stiff, stiff, stiff, sore, sore, sore, sore, sore...), solo and ensemble pieces, and whatnot. Plus, teachers are really heaping on the homework now.**

**Review!**

**Please!**

**Review if you hope that Ethan and Tatiana don't end up Romeo- and Juliet-style. (That is, dead. Perished. Obliterated. )**

**Review if you think the idea of Truth or Dare (or a similar cliche game) with Ethan involved would be funny. (Please give me some of those games beside Truth or Dare or Never Have I Ever, and the rules.)**


	15. AN of SURRENDERMENT

I'm so sorry! This is not a chapter.

Okay, so bad news.

This story is going to either be adopted or deleted if there aren't adoption offers.

Please adopt!

It just feels like I'm in a rut – I can think of the general plotline that I want to happen, but I can't weave it into the story!

Plus, I had an idea for another story I wanted to work on after Midnight Sun and I would just neglect this =[

PLEASE ADOPT! YOU WOULDN'T SEND AN ORPHAN TO THE ELECTRIC CHAIR, WOULD YOU?!

Pm if you want to adopt.

XDXD


	16. NEW AUTHOR!

Hey! So, the lucky person who gets Return To Forks is…

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**AliceOfTwilight71!!!!!!!!**

Okay, so I hereby bequeath unto you my story, Return To Forks. (don't ask, I don't know what I'm doing, either)

Put her on story alert, you guys! And after I finish the last chapter of Midnight Sun, I'm going to start a new story! Learning from my mistake of having too many stories going at one time and being overwhelmed, pick which idea you like better:

_Bella is Princess Isabella of Wales, James is the Prince of Belgium, and they're betrothed, and James is a freaking creeper. She meets a servant named Edward. They fall in love. They are discovered. Edward is sentenced to die. OH NO! WHAT HAPPENS?!_

_Bella is abused by Charlie. She is 7 years old and goes to a private school. She came home with a less-than-perfect report card and Charlie nearly wipes her out. The Cullens find and adopt her. Edward secretly pines for her once she becomes of age…will she pick him or the boy she's dating (unnamed)? (okay, so you know who)_

Let me know, pleasey cheesy macaroni lemon squeezy! (my friend made it up)

**Cookies for everyone who reviewed my story(ies)! Don't take me off story alert yet, kay? I'm going to announce which story I'm going to write next (if you're going to still read my stories after I quit already...boohoo...)**

**XD**


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